SCHOOL  ORGAMZATIO 
AND  ADMINISTRATOR 

ELLWOOD  P.  CUBBERLEY 


EDUCATION 


ADMINISTRATION  AND  SUPERVISION  AREA 
SCHOOL  OF  EDUCATION 

UCLA 


A  Gift 

From 

the 

Library 

of 

PROFESSOR  LLOYD  N.  MORRISETT 


EDUCATIONAL    SURVEY    SERIES 


School  Organization  and 
Administration 


EDUCATIONAL     SURVEY     SERIES 

School  Organization  and 
Administration 

A  Concrete  Study  based  on  the 
Salt    Lake   City   School   Survey 


By  ELLWOOD   P.   CUBBERLEY 

PROFESSOR  OF  EDUCATION,    LELAND 
STANFORD  JUNIOR  UNIVERSITY 

Assisted  by 

JESSE  B.  SEARS,  LEWIS  M.  TERMAN 

JAMES  H.  VAN  SICKLE,  and 

J.  HAROLD  WILLIAMS 


YONKERS-ON-HUDSON,  NEW  YORK 

WORLD  BOOK  COMPANY 
1917 


Copyright,  1916,  by  World  Book  Company 

All  rights  reserved 

ss:  CSOA — 2 


Ed./PsycUi 

Library 

. 

PUBLISHERS''  PREFACE 

r\URING  two  or  three  years  preceding  1915  a  certain 
•*~^  amount  of  general  criticism  developed  in  Salt  Lake 
City  with  reference  to  the  work  of  the  schools  and  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  instruction  and  supervision.  The  harmonious 
cooperation  which  had  previously  existed  between  the  Board 
of  Education  and  the  Superintendent  of  Instruction  came  to 
be  somewhat  impaired,  and  the  confidence  of  the  citizens  in 
their  schools  was  somewhat  shaken.  In  particular,  the  rather 
common  complaint  was  raised  that  the  administration  of  the 
schools  was  not  efficient,  and  that  the  instruction  in  the  fun- 
damental school  subjects  was  not  producing  the  best  results. 

The  superintending  authorities  did  what  they  could  to 
meet  such  criticism  by  increasing  time  allowances,  and 
similar  measures,  but  without  appreciable  results.  Finally, 
the  Superintendent  of  Schools  for  the  city  recommended  to 
the  Board  of  Education  that  educational  experts  from  out- 
side the  state  be  invited  in  to  make  a  school  survey,  decide 
mooted  questions,  and  outline  an  educational  policy  for  the 
future.  The  President  of  the  Board  of  Education  also 
made  a  similar  recommendation  to  the  Board  and  to  the 
people  in  the  printed  annual  school  report  for  1913-14. 

In  May,  1914,  the  Board  of  Education  acted  on  these 
recommendations  and  ordered  a  school  survey,  appropriated 
$4,000  to  cover  the  cost  of  making  such  survey,  not  includ- 
ing the  printing  of  the  report,  and  invited  Professor  Cub- 
berley,  head  of  the  Department  of  Education  at  Leland 
Stanford  Junior  University,  together  with  such  persons  as 
he  might  choose  to  associate  with  him,  to  conduct  the  survey. 

The  nature  of  the  survey  decided  on  by  Professor  Cub- 
berley  was  determined  somewhat  by  the  character  of  the 
criticisms  which  had  given  origin  to  it.  The  survey  con- 
cerned itself  especially  with  the  form  of  organization  and 
administration  under  which  the  schools  were  operated,  the 


vi  Publishers'  Preface 

system  of  supervisory  control  by  means  of  which  the  Super- 
intendent of  Schools  worked,  the  progress  in  the  funda- 
mental subjects  being  made  by  the  children  in  the  schools, 
and  the  problem  of  adequate  finance.  The  field  work  was 
conducted  during  May,  the  report  was  prepared  during 
June,  and  the  printed  volume  was  issued  in  October,  1915. 

The  conclusions  of  the  report,  unlike  those  of  most  sur- 
veys which  have  so  far  been  made,  were  favorable  to  the 
Superintendent  of  Schools,  and  the  report  is  a  rather  strong 
testimonial  as  to  the  value  of  the  fifteen  years  of  service  he 
had  given  to  the  city.  The  chief  criticism  of  his  work  is 
in  the  overemphasis  he  had  allowed,  as  revealed  by  the  tests 
made  of  the  work  in  the  schools,  of  the  instruction  in  the 
so-called  fundamental  school  subjects. 

The  report  contained,  in  addition,  a  number  of  features 
which  were  quite  distinctive,  and  which  made  the  document  so 
much  in  demand  that  it  was  out  of  print  within  six  months 
of  its  publication.  Among  these  should  be  mentioned  the 
detailed  explanation  of  the  tests  made  and  the  results  ob- 
tained, the  study  of  the  instruction  of  retarded  pupils,  the 
work  in  health  control,  the  school  building  and  site  problem, 
and  the  peculiar  financial  problem  presented  by  this  city. 

In  consideration  of  this  large  demand,  both  from  individ- 
uals and  for  university  class  use,  the  publishers  have  decided 
to  reissue  the  report  as  a  member  of  their  Survey  Series, 
with  the  hope  of  its  meeting  a  still  larger  usefulness.  Be- 
fore its  reissue,  each  chapter  has  been  carefully  revised  by 
the  member  of  the  survey  staff  responsible  for  it,  and  the 
whole  by  the  director  of  the  survey.  While  the  study  was 
made  with  the  needs  and  conditions  of  a  particular  city  in 
mind,  the  methods  and  the  conclusions  are  of  such  general 
application  that  it  has  been  felt  to  be  perfectly  proper  to 
give  the  document  the  more  general  title  of  a  study  in 
School  Organization  and  Administration.  As  such  a  con- 
crete study,  it  is  hoped  that  it  may  meet  with  large  useful- 
ness among  students  of  city  educational  administration  in 
all  parts  of  the  United  States.  . 


DIRECTOR'S  LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL 

MR.  LEDYARD  M.  BAILEY,  Chairman  Survey  Committee,  Salt 

Lake  City,  Utah. 
Dear  Sir: 

I  have  the  honor  to  submit  to  you  herewith,  for  your  com- 
mittee, the  final  report  of  the  survey  of  the  public  school  system 
of  your  city,  as  authorized  and  directed  by  resolution  of  your 
Board  of  Education  on  May  4,  1915. 

The  work  on  this  survey  was  begun  in  Salt  Lake  City  on  May 
10.  The  survey  staff,  with  the  particular  parts  assigned  to  each 
member,  was  as  follows: 

ELLWOOD  P.  CUBBERLEY,  Professor  of  Education,  Leland  Stanford  Junior 
University.  Director  of  the  Survey;  Administration;  Finances. 

JESSE  B.  SEARS,  Assistant  Professor  of  Education,  Leland  Stanford  Junior 
University.  Efficiency  Tests. 

LEWIS  M.  TERMAN,  Associate  Professor  of  Education,  Leland  Stanford 
Junior  University.  School  Buildings;  Health  Supervision;  Physical 
Education. 

JAMES  H.  VAN  SICKLE,  Superintendent  of  City  Schools,  Springfield, 
Massachusetts.  Courses  of  Study;  Instruction. 

J.  HAROLD  WILLIAMS,  Director  of  Research,  Whittier  (Cal.)  State  School 
for  Delinquents.  Progress  of  Pupils;  Statistical  Work;  Drawings. 

The  field  work  of  the  survey  was  completed  on  May  28. 

During  the  progress  of  the  work  the  members  of  the  survey 
staff  were  in  constant  consultation,  and  the  nature  and  scope  of 
the  report  gradually  shaped  itself  while  we  were  in  Salt  Lake 
City.  Before  leaving  the  city  the  report  was  outlined,  in  some 
detail,  and  formed  the  subject  of  discussion  for  a  number  of  even- 
ings. As  an  outgrowth  of  this  discussion  the  conclusions  here 
presented  were  agreed  upon. 

To  facilitate  the  work  of  the  survey,  as  well  as  the  writing  of 
the  different  chapters,  each  member  of  the  survey  staff  gave  par- 
ticular attention  to  the  parts  which  he  was  to  organize  in  written 
form.  Since  leaving  Salt  Lake  City  each  member  of  the  staff 
has  written  the  parts  assigned  to  him,  the  drawings  to  illustrate 
the  conclusions  have  been  made,  and  all  have  been  submitted 
to  the  director,  who  has  organized  and  unified  the  report.  The 


viii  Director's  Letter  of  Transmitted 

responsibility  for  the  report  as  a  whole  rests  with  the  director  of 
the  survey,  though  proper  credit  for  the  work  done  on  the  diff erent 
chapters  by  the  members  of  the  survey  staff  is  indicated  in  the 
body  of  the  report. 

In  preparing  the  report  we  have  tried  to  commend  the  good 
features  of  your  school  system,  and  to  use  criticism  only  as  a  basis 
for  constructive  recommendations.  The  larger  aspects  of  your 
problem  relate  to  buildings,  teachers,  and  finance,  and  these  have 
naturally  received  the  major  emphasis.  It  is  hoped  that  the  survey 
may  prove  of  much  service  to  your  board  in  handling  the  educa- 
tional problems  with  which  you  have  to  deal,  and  in  securing  the 
new  legislation  which  is  so  necessary  if  your  schools  are  to  make 
the  progress  they  ought  to  make.  A  city  of  the  character  of  yours 
cannot  afford  to  rest  content  with  the  present  situation. 

It  is  also  hoped  that  the  people  of  your  city  may  find  much 
in  the  report  that  will  be  of  interest  to  them  and  will  serve  to 
give  them  a  more  intelligent  conception  of  the  magnitude  and 
intricacy  of  the  problems  of  public  education  in  a  city  such  as 
yours. 

The  rapidity  with  which  we  were  able  to  do  the  work  is  in  part 
due  to  the  courteous  and  helpful  assistance  rendered  the  members 
of  the  survey  staff  by  every  one  with  whom  we  had  to  deal.  Es- 
pecially is  an  expression  of  appreciation  due  to  the  entire  office  force 
of  the  different  administrative  departments  of  the  school  system, 
the  school  principals,  and  the  teachers  who  assisted  in  the  grading 
of  the  pupil  tests.  I  also  wish  to  take  this  opportunity  to  express 
my  appreciation  of  the  large  capacity  for  work  on  the  part  of  those 
associated  with  me  on  the  survey. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

ELLWOOD  P.  CUBBERLEY, 

Director  of  the  Survey. 

STANFORD  UNIVERSITY,  CALIFORNIA, 
June  30,  1915. 


DIRECTOR'S  NOTE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION 

The  original  edition  of  this  report,  published  by  the  Board  of 
Education  of  Salt  Lake  City,  having  become  exhausted,  the  op- 
portunity has  been  availed  of  carefully  to  revise  the  chapters, 
make  a  few  desirable  corrections,  and  add  a  small  amount  of  more 
recent  supplementary  material.  In  its  present  form  it  is  felt  that 
this  survey  report  not  only  forms  a  commendatory  document 
for  the  city  concerned,  and  especially  for  those  who  have  been  re- 
sponsible for  its  educational  development,  but  also  provides 
superintendents  and  principals  of  schools  and  students  of  educa- 
tional administration  generally  with  a  document  worthy  of  very 
careful  study. 

E.  P.  C. 

APRIL  6,  1916. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 
PUBLISHERS'  PREFACE v 

LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL vii 

I.  ORGANIZATION  AND  ADMINISTRATION 

CHAPTER 

I.  THE  PROBLEM  BEFORE  Us 3 

Position  of  the  city  —  Comparative  isolation  of  the  city  —  Growth  in 
population  —  Character  of  the  population  —  Percentage  of  children  — 
Occupations  in  the  city  —  Wealth  of  the  city  —  The  city  and  its 
needs  —  Order  of  procedure 

II.  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM 21 

General  state  control  —  Carrying  out  the  state  purpose  —  A  Board's 
proper  functions  —  The  Salt  Lake  City  organization  —  Committees 
and  departments  —  Present  organization  wrong  in  principle  —  Right 
principles  in  school  organization  —  A  proper  administrative  reorgani- 
zation —  The  public  and  the  superintendent  —  A  more  fundamental 
reorganization  desirable  —  Summary  of  recommendations 

III.  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT.      36 

Work  of  the  educational  department  —  The  supervisory  staff  —  The 
present  special  supervision  —  Further  supervisory  needs  —  The  worth 
of  supervision  —  The  school  principals  —  Reasons  for  this  difference 
in  Salt  Lake  City  —  The  premium  on  individual  initiative 

IV.  THE  TEACHING  STAFF     47 

Growth  of  the  school  system  —  Position  of  Salt  Lake  City  as  to  teach- 
ers —  Other  bad  features  of  the  teacher  situation  —  The  salary  sched- 
ules —  Comparative  salaries  paid  —  Conclusions  as  to  teachers 

V.  SCHOOL  CENSUS  AND  SCHOOL  ATTENDANCE •  '59 

The  increase  in  both  —  A  school  census  bureau  —  Value  of  such  rec- 
ords in  locating  school  buildings  —  Enforcement  of  compulsory  attend- 
ance —  Where  the  schools  are  increasing  —  Pupils  completing  the 
high-school  course 

II.  THE  WORK  OF  THE  SCHOOLS 

VI.  THE  PRINTED  COURSES  OF  STUDY 71 

Order  of  procedure  —  Opinions  and  tests 

1.  The   kindergartens  —  The    kindergarten   theory  —  More   kinder- 
gartens needed 

2.  The  courses  of  study  for  the  elementary  schools  —  How  the  courses 
of  study  were  made  —  What  the  courses  prescribe  —  Diversity  in  time 
allotments  —  Pupils  who  cannot  accomplish  the  minimum 


xii  Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

3.  The  school  subjects  in  detail  . 

(1)  Morals,  manners,   and  civics  —  Prominence  given  to  this 
subject 

(2)  The  language  or  English  group  —  Emphasis    on    English 
work  —  Reading  and  literature  —  Good  oral  reading  —  Where 
improvements    might    be    made  —  Phonics  —  Language    and 
grammar  —  Spirit  of  the  upper-grade  work 

(3)  Spelling  —  Directions  for  the  work  in  spelling  —  Time  given 
to  spelling 

(4)  Writing  —  The  method  used 

(5)  History,  civics,  and  sociology  —  The    general   plan  —  At- 
tention to  local  history  —  Excellent  features  of  the  course 

(6)  Nature  study  —  The  printed  outline  —  Diversity  hi  kind 
and  amount  of  work  done  —  School  and  home  gardening 

(7)  Arithmetic  —  Nature  of  the  printed  course  —  The  teaching 
observed 

(8)  Geography  —  The  course  good  —  The  instruction  observed 
(g)  Music  —  The  instruction  observed 

(10)  Art  and  construction  —  Need  for  more  supervision  —  The 
art  and  handwork  outlines  —  Drawing  in  the  lower  grades  — 
Modeling  —  Other  constructional  activities 
(n)  Manual  training  —  A  poor  course  of  study  —  Work  needs 
enlarging  —  Suggestions  for  improvement 

(12)  Domestic  arts  and  science 

(13)  Physical  training 

VII.  THE  INSTRUCTION  AND  SUPERVISION  AS  SEEN:  DE- 

SIRABLE EXTENSIONS no 

1.  The  instruction  and  supervision  as  seen  —  The  quality  of  instruction 
—  Classwork  observed  —  An  observed  characteristic  —  The  principals 
and  their  work  —  The  supervision  of  work  in  the  common  branches  — 
Promotion  of  pupils  —  Types  of  examination  tests  used  —  The  qual- 
ity of  the  grade  supervision 

2.  Desirable  extensions  —  The  Junior  high  school  —  The  plan  as  yet 
imperfectly  developed  —  Types  of  courses  needed  —  Vocational  train- 
ing —  Vocations  in  Salt  Lake  City  —  Vocational  education  needed  — 
The  Senior  high  schools  —  Ungraded  classes 

VIII.  THE  EFFICIENCY  OF  THE  INSTRUCTION  MEASURED  .     130 

Purpose  of  this  section  of  the  report  —  Extent  of  the  tests  made  — 
Nature  of  tests  given  —  What  such  tests  should  reveal  —  How  the 
tests  were  conducted 

(1)  The  test  in  spelling  —  Status  of  spelling  in  the  city's  curricu- 
lum —  The  test  and  how  it  was  conducted  —  The  results  of 
the  test  —  Results  of  the  test  by  individuals  —  Uneven  ability 
shown  —  Comparison  with  three  other  cities 

(2)  The  test  in  composition  —  Nature  and  method  of  the  com- 
position test  —  The  results  of  the  test  —  Children  poorly  classi- 
fied for  language  work  —  Samples  of  average  composition  —  Salt 
Lake  City's  composition  work  —  Conclusions  and  recommenda- 
tions 

(3)  The  writing  test  —  Writing  in  the  school  curriculum  —  How 
the  writing  was  measured  —  Results  by  schools  and  by  grades  — 
Variability  among  individuals  in  the  same  grade  —  Comparison 
with  other  cities  —  How  well  the  average  child  can  write  — 
Needed  changes  in  instruction 


Contents  xiii 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

(4)  The  test  in  reading  —  Reading  in  the  course  of  study  —  How 
the  reading  was  tested  —  Results  of  the  test  —  Variation  be- 
tween individuals  —  The  speed  test  —  The  problem  the  schools 
must  meet 

(5)  The  tests  in  arithmetic  —  Arithmetic  in  the  course  of  study 
—  How  the  arithmetic  was  tested  —  Results  of  tests  in  the 
fundamentals  —  Widely  different  results  in  different  schools  — 
Comparison  with  other  cities  —  Accuracy  in  use  of  number  com- 
binations —  The  reasoning  test  —  Comparison  with  other  cities 
in  reasoning  test 

(6)  Summary  and  recommendations  —  The  use  of  standardized 
tests 

DC.  THE  PROGRESS  or  CHILDREN  THROUGH  THE  SCHOOLS  .     194 

Importance  of  proper  school  progress  —  Age  and  grade  distribution  — 
High  percentage  of  retarded  pupils  —  Distribution  of  the  retarded 
pupils  —  Conditions  in  one  room  —  A  proper  redistribution  of  the 
pupils  —  The  fifth  grade  as  an  example  of  uneven  distribution  —  "  Re- 
peaters" —  Causes  of  retardation  —  Age  at  entering  the  first  grade  — 
Other  explanations  for  retardation  —  Subnormal  and  backward  chil- 
dren —  Mental  classification  groups  —  Children  examined  by  intelli- 
gence tests  —  The  measuring  scale  used  —  Backward  children  studied 

—  Feeble-minded  children  —  These  waste  both  the  teacher's  time  and 
their  own  —  Number  of  such  found  in  every  city  —  The  ungraded  school 

—  Mistaken  aim  of  the  ungraded  school  —  Proper  training  for  such 
pupils  —  The    so-called    ungraded    rooms  —  In    reality    "Batavia" 
rooms  —  What  is  needed  —  The  principal  of  such  a  school  —  Un- 
graded  rooms   for  the   different    schools  —  Exceptional   children  — 
Typical  cases  found  —  The  problem  of  delinquency  —  Summary^  of 
recommendations 

III.   BUILDINGS  AND  HEALTH 

X.  THE  SCHOOL  PLANT 229 

The  present  buildings  —  The  school  sites  —  Size  of  school  grounds  — 
Waste  of  space  in  buildings  —  The  result  of  such  excess  —  Lighting  — 
Light  tests  —  Heating  —  Ventilation  —  Other  factors  in  ventilation 

—  Poor  ventilation  common  —  Basement  and  hall  classrooms  —  These 
should  be  abandoned  —  School  desks  —  Blackboards  —  Cloakrooms 

—  Special    rooms  —  Open-air    schools  —  School    baths  —  Toilets  — 
Drinking    fountains  —  Roller    towels  —  Janitor    service  —  Need    for 
greater  cleanliness  —  Fire  protection  —  Quality  of  construction  and 
costs  —  Repairs  —  Summary  and  recommendations 

XI.  HEALTH  SUPERVISION 269 

Standards  for  comparison  —  Officers  and  assistants  —  Scope  and 
nature  of  work  —  Costs  —  Stages  in  the  development  of  health  service 

—  The  second  stage  in  development  —  The  third  stage  —  Health  su- 
pervision becomes  an  educational  service  —  Nature  of  the  school  health 
work  in  Salt  Lake  City  —  Stage  in  development  represented  —  Results 
from  the  present  service  —  Effectiveness  of  the  school  nurse  —  Expan- 
sions planned  by  the  health  commissioner  —  Health  conditions  of  Salt 
Lake  City  school  children  —  Summarizing  the  data  on  health  condi- 
tions among  the  children  —  Headaches  —  Ears  and  hearing  —  Eyes 
and  vision  —  Nose  and  throat  troubles  —  Teeth  —  General  weakness 

—  Mentally  or  morally  exceptional  children  —  Speech  defects  —  Mal- 
nutrition —  Health    work    should    be    extended  —  Conclusions    and 
recommendations 


xiv  Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XII.  PHYSICAL  EDUCATION,  PLAYGROUND  ACTIVITIES,  AND 

HYGIENE  TEACHING      294 

1.  Physical  education  —  Two  types  of  physical  education  —  The  type 
in  Salt  Lake  City  —  An  average  and  fair  example  of  the  indoor  games 

—  Other  exercises  seen  —  Character  of  the  yard  play  —  P^X  teachers 
needed  —  Physical  education  in  the  high  schools  —  The  military  drill 

—  Better  physical  training  desirable 

2.  Playground  activities  —  Small  school  playgrounds —  Larger  use 
of  playgrounds  desirable  —  Vacation  playground  activities 

3.  Hygiene  teaching  —  The  present  course  of  instruction  —  Practical 
instruction  —  The    buildings    negative    the    instruction  —  Summary 
and  recommendations 

IV.  FINANCES 

XIII.  THE  FINANCIAL  PROBLEM      315 

City  costs  for  maintenance  —  Costs  per  capita  for  schools  —  Why  these 
figures  are  misleading  —  A  real  basis  for  comparing  school  costs  —  The 
median  western  cost  —  Where  Salt  Lake  City  stands  —  Wealth  and 
tax  rates  —  Need  for  a  larger  school  tax  —  The  remedy  a  legislative 
one  —  Distribution  of  expenditures  —  Distribution  of  expenditures 
during  the  next  two  years 


APPENDIX 

A  SUGGESTED  LAW  FOR  THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  SALT 

LAKE  CITY  SCHOOL  DISTRICT 335 

Schools  in  cities  of  the  first  class  —  The  board  of  education  —  Conduct 
of  elections  —  Organization  of  board  —  Executive  officers  —  Superin- 
tendent of  schools  —  Clerk  and  purchasing  agent  —  Treasurer  —  Su- 
perintendent of  buildings  —  Superintendent  of  attendance  and  census 

—  Superintendent  of  health  work  —  Annual  report  —  Annual  budget 

—  Annual  school  tax  —  Other  powers 

INDEX 341 


PART    I 

Organization  and  Administration 


SCHOOL    ORGANIZATION   AND 
ADMINISTRATION 

CHAPTER  I1 
THE  PROBLEM  BEFORE  US 

POSITION   OF   THE   CITY 

IT  always  leads  to  a  clearer  understanding  of  a  problem 
such  as  we  have  before  us  for  study  if  we  first  locate  the 
city  with  which  we  are  to  deal.  By  this  is  meant  not  its 
geographical  location,  as  that  is  well  known,  but  rather  its 
social  and  economic  location  among  cities  of  its  size  and 
class.  From  such  a  study  of  the  social  and  economic  posi- 
tion and  relationships  the  problem  of  public  education, 
which  is  essentially  a  social  and  economic  problem,  stands 
out  more  distinctly  than  it  otherwise  would  do.  Such  a 
social  and  economic  study  we  shall  make  before  proceeding 
to  a  detailed  study  of  the  accomplishments  and  needs  of  the 
educational  organization  of  the  city. 

For  the  purpose  of  this  study  we  shall  compare  Salt 
Lake  City  with  a  number  of  other  cities  of  its  size  and  class. 
In  doing  this  we  shall  use  in  part  the  twenty-five  other  north- 
ern and  western  cities  which,  by  the  United  States  Census  of 
1910,  were  classed  as  growing  cities  and  as  having,  at  that 
time,  between  75,000  and  125,000  inhabitants.  As  Salt  Lake 
City  had  a  population  of  92,777  in  1910,  and  is  estimated  as 

1  Chapters  I  to  V  inclusive  were  written  by  Professor  Ellwood  P.  Cub- 
berley,  Director  of  the  Survey.  —  PUBLISHERS. 


4  School  Organization  and  Administration 

now  having  a  population  of  approximately  110,000,  it  will 
be  seen  that  this  group  of  cities  includes  those  of  a  size  and 
class  with  which  Salt  Lake  City  may  properly  be  compared. 
For  purposes  of  comparing  Salt  Lake  City  with  western 
cities  alone,  another  table  of  sixteen  distinctly  western  cities, 
all  of  which  had  25,000  or  more  inhabitants  in  1910,  will 
also  at  times  be  used.  For  all  these  cities  the  Reports  of  the 
United  States  Census  for  1910,  and  the  United  States  Cen- 
sus Bureau's  annual  Statistics  of  Cities,  provide  good  data 
for  comparative  purposes. 


One  of  the  most  conspicuous  features  of  Salt  Lake  City, 
and  one  which  in  a  way  modifies  its  activities  and  needs,  is 
its  comparative  isolation.  One  must  travel  to  the  east  as  far 
as  Denver  before  one  finds  a  city  of  its  class,  and  to  the  west 
as  far  as  Sacramento.  Within  a  radius  of  700  miles  there 
is  not  only  no  community  the  size  of  Salt  Lake  City,  but 
within  this  same  radius  but  three  cities  having  more  than 
15,000  inhabitants  are  found.  One  of  these  is  the  neighbor- 
ing city  of  Ogden,  and  the  other  two  are  400  miles  to  the 
north,  in  Idaho  and  Montana.  In  traveling  to  the  eastward 
the  summit  of  the  continental  divide  must  be  crossed,  while 
to  the  westward  the  desert  and  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains 
block  the  way. 

Beautifully  situated  on  a  rising  slope  between  the  Wasatch 
and  the  Oquirrh  ranges  of  mountains,  in  a  country  rich  in 
mineral  and  agricultural  resources  and  in  a  valley  of  great 
fertility,  with  the  state  university  and  the  state  capitol  within 
its  bounds,  the  city  stands  as  the  mineral,  agricultural,  po- 
litical, financial,  social,  and  educational  center  of  the  state, 
and,  to  a  large  degree,  of  the  inter-mountain  plateau  as  well. 
Blessed  with  a  fine  climate,  plenty  of  good  water,  abundant 
sunshine,  good  educational  facilities,  and  a  progressive 
people,  the  city  has  attracted  to  itself  a  population  of  good 
character  and  great  virility,  and  one  which  has  made  for  the 


The  Problem  Before  Us  5 

city  a  somewhat  independent  position  along  social,  educa- 
tional, financial,  and  industrial  lines.  Forced  to  depend 
largely  upon  itself,  the  city  has  developed  in  a  small  way 
into  a  manufacturing  and  producing  center  of  some  local 
importance.  The  mining  industry  tributary  to  it  is  of  large 
commercial  value,  and  is  destined  to  remain  such  for  a  long 
time  to  come.  Notwithstanding  these  developments,  how- 
ever, the  city  is  essentially  a  home  city,  its  population  con- 
sisting very  largely  of  a  substantial  middle  class  of  the 
home-building  and  home-owning  type,  interested  in  good 
government,  good  schools,  and  the  promotion  of  the  home. 


GROWTH    IN    POPULATION 


The  growth  of  the  city  within  the  past  quarter  century 
has  been  very  rapid.  This  may  be  seen  from  the  following 
tabular  statement : 


Year 

Population 

Per  Cent,  of  Increase 
During  Period 

1880  

20,768 

1800  . 

44,843 

iiS-9 

IQOO    . 

c*,cai 

19.4 

IQIO    

92,777 

73-3 

IQI^     . 

110,000  1 

>  Estimate  for  July  i,  1915. 

Among  the  cities  of  its  size  and  class  it  was  exceeded  in 
rate  of  growth,  from  1900  to  1910,  by  but  three  of  the 
twenty-five  cities  we  shall  use  for  comparative  purposes,  as 
may  be  seen  from  the  Table  No.  I,  on  page  6. 

Of  the  distinctively  western  cities,  with  which  Salt  Lake 
City  will  also  be  compared  for  items  of  expense,  only  the 
Pacific  Coast  cities  exceed  Salt  Lake  City  in  rate  of  growth 
from  1900  to  1910. 


School  Organization  and  Administration 


TABLE  I 
SIZE  AND  RATE  OF  GROWTH  OF  TWENTY-SIX  SELECTED  CITIES  l 


City 

Population, 
1910 

Per  cent. 
Rate  of  In- 
crease, 
1900-1910 

i.    Troy,  N.Y  

76,81? 

26.6 

2.     Somerville,  Mass  

77.0^6 

2C.2. 

3.    Duluth,  Minn  

78,466 

48.1 

4.    Youngstown,  Ohio   

7  Q,o66 

76.2 

5.    Yonkers,  N.Y  

70,803 

66.? 

6.     Kansas  City,  Elan  

82,^31 

60.  i 

7.    Tacoma,  Wash  

83,74.3 

I22.O 

8.    Lawrence,  Mass  

8^,802 

27.2 

9.    Des  Moines,  la  

86,^68 

2Q.Q 

10.     Springfield,  Mass  

88,026 

42.2 

ii.    Lynn,  Mass  

80,336 

3O.4 

12.    SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH   

92,777 

73.3 

13.     Camden,  N.J.    .   . 

O4.  ?^8 

24..  C 

14.     Reading,  Pa  .    .       .    . 

06  O7I 

21.7 

15.    New  Bedford,  Mass.    .    .       

06  6?2 

CJ4.8 

16.    Trenton,  N.J  

Q6,8l? 

32.1 

17.    Hartford,  Conn  

08,01? 

23.O 

18.    Albany,  N.Y  

ioo,2?2. 

6.1 

19.    Bridgeport,  Conn  

IO2.CX4. 

43.7 

20.    Spokane,  Wash  

104.4.02 

183.3 

21.     Cambridge,  Mass  

IO4,83,Q 

I4.I 

22.     Lowell,  Mass  

106,204 

II.Q 

23.     Grand  Rapids,  Mich  

112,  ?7I 

28.6 

24.    Dayton,  Ohio    

Il6,577 

36.6 

25.    Fall  River,  Mass  

119,295 

13.8 

26.    Omaha,  Neb  

1  24,096 

2I.O 

This  means  that  Salt  Lake  City  was  among  the  few  most 
rapidly  growing  American  cities  during  the  period.  Aver- 
aged over  the  entire  ten  years  from  1900  to  1910  the  in- 

1  This  table  contains  every  northern  and  western  city  which  in  1910  had 
between  75,000  and  125,000  inhabitants,  and  which  had  increased  in  popu- 
lation during  the  preceding  decade. 


The  Problem  Before  Us  7 

crease  was  equal  to  11.2  persons  per  day.  As  the  rate  of 
growth,  judged  by  the  number  of  children  in  the  schools, 
was  more  rapid  toward  the  end  of  the  period  than  during 
the  earlier  part  of  it,  the  rate  toward  the  latter  part  of  the 
period  must  have  been  at  least  as  high  as  fifteen  persons  per 
day.  The  increase  in  the  number  of  children  in  school 
would  indicate  that  a  growth  at  least  as  rapid  as  this  still 
continues. 

CHARACTER   OF   THE   POPULATION 

In  character  the  population  is  mostly  of  excellent  racial 
stock.  Figure  i  shows  that  78  out  of  every  100  persons  in 
the  city,  in  1910,  were  born  in  the  United  States,  and  41 
out  of  every  100  were  born  of  parents  both  of  whom  also 
were  born  here.  This  is  about  average  for  all  northern  and 
western  cities,  being  higher  than  in  the  manufacturing 
centers  of  the  east  and  lower  than  in  the  residential  cities  of 
the  west.  Of  the  21  per  cent,  who  were  of  foreign  birth, 
it  will  be  noticed  that  9.3  per  cent,  came  from  English- 
speaking  lands,  leaving  but  1 1.8  per  cent,  from  non-English- 
speaking  countries.  Three-fourths  of  these  were  from  Ger- 
man, Austrian,  or  Scandinavian  countries.  But  i.i  per  cent, 
were,  at  that  time,  from  countries  to  the  south  and  east  of 
Europe  (Italians,  Greeks,  the  Balkan  States,  Armenia, 
Turkey)  and  but  eight-tenths  of  I  per  cent,  were  of  the 
negro  race.  The  miscellaneous  group  included  but  few 
Orientals. 

This  means  that  the  city,  in  1910,  had  a  particularly  select 
class  of  people,  with  no  serious  educational  or  social  problem 
arising  from  the  presence  of  a  large  number  of  foreign 
born,  Orientals,  or  negroes.  Coming  from  countries  where 
primary  education  has  long  prevailed,  the  number  of  illiter- 
ates in  the  population  is  naturally  low.  The  average  for  the 
city  in  1910  was  1.6  per  cent.,  as  against  7.7  per  cent,  for 
the  United  States  as  a  whole,  and  6.9  per  cent,  for  the  Moun- 
tain States.  The  foreign-born  element  showed  an  illiteracy 


8 


School  Organization  and  Administration 


of  4.4  per  cent.,  and  the  native  born  but  0.25  per  cent.,  with 
most  of  this  among  the  few  negroes. 

The  number  of  foreign  born  from  the  south  and  east  of 
Europe  has  since  increased,  both  in  actual  numbers  and  in 
percentage  of  the  total  population,  and  their  settlement 


NATIVE  BORN. 

ONE  OR  BOTH  PARENTS 
FOREICN 


NATIVE  BORN, 

OF  NATIVE  R&RENT* 


FIG.  i.    THE  ELEMENTS  OF  THE  POPULATION  OF  SALT  LAKE  CITY 

largely  in  that  part  of  the  city  lying  along  the  railroad 
tracks  is  certain  to  develop  there  what  will  in  time  become 
a  serious  educational  and  social  problem.  In  a  sense  it  has 
already  become  such.  With  the  marked  turn  of  immigration 
from  the  north  and  west  of  Europe  to  the  countries  to  the 
south  and  east,  that  has  characterized  the  immigration  of 


The  Problem  Before  Us 


the  past  fifteen  years,  Salt  Lake  City  cannot  hope  to  escape 
receiving  an  increasing  percentage  of  these  more  poorly 
educated  and  less  well-developed  racial  stocks. 

TABLE  II 

COMPOSITION  OF  THE  POPULATION  OF  26  SELECTED  CITIES 


City 

Percentage  of  the 
Whole  Who  Are 

Foreign 
Born 

Negroes 

Native 
Born  of 
Native 
Parents 

Native 
Born 
with  One 
or  Both 
Parents 
Foreign 
Born 

i.    Reading,  Pa  

77.8 
62.3 
62.0 
S8.3 
52.4 
52-3 
44-4 
43-6 
42.6 
42.0 
41.1 
40.0 
40.2 
38.3 
37-1 
36.2 

32-4 
31-4 
27.1 
26.6 
24.4 
19.7 

19-5 
19.4 
13-6 
13-3 

12.2 
22.3 
2I>9 
I7.8 

24-5 
26.1 

36.4 
28.5 
31-9 
37-1 

37.0 
30.2 
32.2 
34-5 
3i-3 
38.0 

33-7 
35-2 
37-5 
36.6 
38.0 
40.6 
39-5 
33-5 
37-9 
43-7 

9.2% 

I2.O 
II.9 
12.6 

16.6 
20.3 
18.1 
25.6 

21.8 

20.  1 
21.1 
27.2 

25-9 
26.9 
30.6 
25.2 
3i-4 
31-6 
33-3 
35-5 
33-3 
39-i 
40.9 
44.1 
48.1 
42.6 

0.8% 
3-4 

4-2 

"•3 
6.4 

0.7 

I.O 

0.9 
3-6 
0.8 
0.8 
2.7 
i-7 
o-3 
0.8 
0.6 
2.4 
1.8 
1.9 
i-3 
4-5 
o-S 

O.I 

3-° 
o-3 
0-3 

2.    Des  Moines,  la  

3.    Dayton,  Ohio      

4.     Kansas  City,  Mo  

5.     Camdcn,  N.J  

6.     Spokane,  Wash  

7.    Albany,  N.Y  

'8.    Tacoma,  Wash  

9.    Omaha,  Neb  

10.    Troy,  N.Y  

11.    SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH   .   . 
12.    Trenton,  N.J  

13.     Springfield,  Mass  

14.     Somerville,  Mass  

15.    Lynn,  Mass  

16.    Grand  Rapids,  Mich  

17.    Youngstown,  Ohio     

18.    Hartford,  Conn  

19.    Yonkers,  N.Y  

20.    Bridgeport,  Conn  

21.    Cambridge,  Mass  

22.    Duluth,  Minn  

23.    Lowell,  Mass  

24.    New  Bedford,  Mass  

25.    Lawrence,  Mass  

26.     Fall  River,  Mass  

United  States  as  a  Whole     .    .    . 

54-i 

20.5 

14.7 

10.7 

IO 


School  Organization  and  Administration 


Table  II  compares  Salt  Lake  City  with  other  cities  of 
its  size  and  class  in  the  matter  of  the  elements  of  its 
population. 

PERCENTAGE  OF   CHILDREN 

In  the  percentage  of  children  in  the  total  population,  Salt 
Lake  City  ranks  high  among  western  cities.  The  general 
characteristics  of  a  western  city  are  a  marked  preponder- 
ance of  males,  a  small  percentage  of  married  males,  and  a 
small  number  of  children.  In  these  respects  Salt  Lake  City 
is  an  exception,  as  it  has  but  a  small  preponderance  of 
males,  a  large  percentage  of  the  males  are  married,  and  in 

TABLE  III 

PERCENTAGE  OF  CHILDREN  IN  THE  TOTAL  POPULATION  COMPARED  FOR 
WESTERN  CITIES 


City 

Percentage  of  Children 

5  to  15  Years 
of  Age, 
Inclusive 

Under  15 
Years  of 
Age 

i.    Ogden,  Utah     

2O.O 

18.5 
16.0 
15.2 
15-2 
i5-i 
14.7 

I4-S 
14.1 
13-8 
13-6 
I341 
13-0 
12.5 

12.  1 
I2.O 
II.9 

32.1 
29.6 

23-3 
23.6 

23.1 
23-9 
22.7 
23.2 
22.5 
21.4 
20.3 

20.2 
2O.  I 
19.7 
19.8 

18.8 
18.9 

2.    SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH  

3      Colorado  Springs  Colo  

A      Tacoma  W^ash  

5     Denver  Colo.       .   .   

6     Butte  Mont  

7     Berkeley  Cal  

8     Spokane,  Wash  

9.    Oakland,  Cal.       

10.    San  Jos6,  Cal.       

ii      Pasadena,  Cal  

12      San  Diego,  Cal  

13     Los  Angeles,  Cal  

14.    Seattle,  Wash  

15      Sacramento  Cal  

16.    Portland,  Ore  

17.    San  Francisco,  Cal  

United  States  as  a  Whole   

17.4 

27-3 

The  Problem  Before  Us 


ii 


number  of  children  it  ranks  with  the  markedly  foreign-born 
manufacturing  cities  of  the  east  and  the  cities  of  the  south. 
Only  one  other  western  city,  Ogden,  exceeds  it  in  percentage 
of  children.  This  may  be  seen  from  Table  III. 

Distributed  by  age  groups  the  population  is  as  shown  in 
Figure  2.     From  this  figure  it  will  be  seen  that  Salt  Lake 


UNITED  STATES        i      SALT  LAKE  CITY 

UNDER   |«  ' 

33% 


FIG.  2.    AGE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  POPULATION 

City  is  essentially  a  community  of  young  people,  there  being 
an  excess  of  children  and  a  shortage  of  those  45  years  of 
age  or  over.  The  United  States  Census  figures  gave  4.6  per- 
sons to  a  family  and  5.2  persons  to  a  dwelling  for  the  city  in 
1910.  Such  a  condition  should  mean  a  live  and  vigorous 
city,  —  a  city  of  young  people,  and  with  their  families  as 
yet  young.  Such  a  community  is  usually  self-reliant  and  re- 
sourceful, and  willing  to  provide  the  best  it  can  afford  for 
its  children. 


12  School  Organization  and  Administration 

The  following  table  compares  Salt  Lake  City  with  other 
cities  of  its  size  and  class  in  the  matter  of  the  proportion  of 
children  in  the  total  population: 


TABLE  IV 

SHOWING  THE  PERCENTAGE  OF  CHILDREN  IN  THE  TOTAL  POPULATION 


City 

Percentage  of  Children 

5  to  15  Years 
of  Age, 
Inclusive 

Under  15 
Years  of 
Age 

i.    Fall  River,  Mass  

20.4 
18.9 
18.5 
18.1 
17.9 

17-5 
17.2 
17.2 
17.0 
17.0 
16.9 
16.8 
16.8 
16.8 
16.8 
16.6 
iS-9 
iS-9 
15-6 
iS-4 
15.2 

15-2 
15-0 
14.9 
14.6 
14-5 

32.1 
29.9 
29.6 
28.4 
28.3 
27.8 
28.9 
26.5 
27.0 
26.8 
27.9 
27.9 
27.2 
26.6 
26.6 
25.6 
27.2 

25-3 
26.0 

24-5 
23-7, 
23.6' 
24.0 

22.6 
23.2 
23.2 

2.     Yonkers,  N.Y  

3     SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH       

4     Camden,  N.Y  

5     Lawrence,  Mass  

6     Cambridge,  Mass  

7.    New  Bedford,  Mass  

8.     Duluth,  Minn  

9.     Grand  Rapids,  Mich  

10.    Lowell,  Mass.       

n.     Youngstown,  Ohio    

12      Kansas  City,  Kan. 

13      Bridgeport,  Conn.    .    .                  

14     Hartford,  Conn  

15     Trenton,  N.J  

16     Des  Moines,  la.  '  

17     Reading,  Pa  

18.     Springfield,  Mass  

19.     Somerville,  Mass  

20     Dayton,  Ohio    .... 

21      Omaha,  Neb  ... 

22.    Tacoma,  Wash  

23.    Lynn,  Mass  

24     Albany,  N.Y  

25.    Troy,  N.Y  

26      Spokane  Wash.    .    .       

United  States  as  a  Whole   

17.4 

27-3 

The  Problem  Before  Us  13 

The  significance  of  this  large  number  of  children  of 
school  age  may  be  better  appreciated  if  it  be  stated  that,  for 
a  city  the  size  of  Salt  Lake  City  (estimated  now  at  1 10,000), 


FIG.  3.   PORTLAND,  OREGON,  AND  SALT  LAKE  CITY  COMPARED  AS  TO  CHILDREN 

In  making  the  school  survey  in  Portland  in  1913,  as  in  Salt  Lake  City  in  1915,  the  number  of 
children  actually  in  the  schools  early  in  May  was  taken  in  each  place.  Reducing  the  Portland 
figures  so  as  to  give  the  results  if  the  city  were  the  same  size  as  Salt  Lake  City  (110,000),  we  get 
the  above  figure.  The  black  represents  the  children  in  Portland,  and  the  white  represents  the  ex- 
cess in  each  grade  for  Salt  Lake  City  for  the  same  total  population.  Portland  at  that  time  had 
nine  grades  in  its  elementary  school  course.  The  increased  number  of  schools  which  Salt  Lake 
City  must  maintain  per  thousand  of  its  population  will  at  once  be  evident. 

every  increase  of  i  per  cent,  in  the  percentage  of  the  popu- 
lation between  5  and  15  (the  so-called  school  age)  means 
at  least  1,000  more  children  enrolled  in  the  schools,  30  more 
teachers  to  be  provided  for  the  schools,  and  approximately 


14  School  Organization  and  Administration 

two  more  school  buildings  to  be  erected  within  the  city.  Put 
another  way,  Salt  Lake  City  must  provide  50  per  cent,  more 
teachers  and  buildings  per  1,000  of  its  total  population 
than  do  such  cities  as  Seattle,  Portland,  Sacramento,  and 
San  Francisco,  and  30  per  cent,  more  than  do  Tacoma  and 
Denver,  to  be  able  to  maintain  merely  equivalent  schools. 
This  is  well  shown  by  Fig.  3.  It  is  the  price  the  city  must 
pay  for  its  large  families  and  its  large  excess  of  children. 


OCCUPATIONS   IN   THE   CITY 

It  was  stated  on  a  preceding  page  that  Salt  Lake  City 
had  developed  a  somewhat  independent  position  for  itself 
along  commercial  and  industrial  lines.  High  freight  rates 
have  compelled  the  city  to  make  many  articles  usually 
brought  in  from  the  outside,  with  the  result  that  many  small 
industries  have  been  developed  which  afford  employment 
and  contribute  to  the  wealth  of  the  community.  Sixty-five 
per  cent,  of  the  factories  of  the  State  of  Utah  are  in  Salt 
Lake  City  or  county,  and  these  factories  furnished  an  out- 
put in  1914  valued  at  $61,450,000,  and  paid  out  in  wages 
nearly  $10,000,000.  Located  as  the  city  is,  and  with  abun- 
dant raw  materials  in  many  lines  close  at  hand,  it  is  a  natural 
manufacturing  community. 

According  to  the  census  figures  for  1910,  40.7  per  cent, 
of  the  total  population  of  the  city  were  engaged  in  some 
occupation,  with  the  distribution  as  follows: 

Engaged  in  mechanical  and  manufacturing  industries       12.5% 

Engaged  in  trade 7.0 

Engaged  in  domestic  and  personal  service     5.4 

Engaged  in  transportation 4.6 

Engaged  in  clerical  occupations 4.4 

Engaged  in  professional  service 3.6 

Engaged  in  public  service      .   .  ' 1.7 

Engaged  in  extraction  of  minerals 0.9 

Engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits      .   .   .   .  ' 0.6 


The  Problem  Before  Us  15 

Compared  with  all  other  American  cities,  Salt  Lake  City 
gives  the  following  results  for  each  1,000  persons  employed, 
distributed  by  occupation  and  by  sex: 


TABLE  V 
NUMBER  ENGAGED  IN  EACH  OCCUPATION,  FOR  EACH  1,000  EMPLOYED 


Occupation 

Males 

Females 

In  Salt 
Lake  City 

In  all 
Cities 

In  Salt 
Lake  City 

In  all 
Cities 

i. 

2. 

3- 
4- 
5- 
6. 

7- 

8. 

9- 

Manufacturing    and    mechani- 
cal industries    

339 
189 
74 
133 
94 
7i 
52 
3° 

18 

473 
175 
69 
119 
82 
43 
23 
6 

10 

172 
97 
365 
26 
164 
iS8 
i 
o 

17 

313 
96 

348 
18 

135 
88 
o 
o 

2 

Trade     

Domestic  and  personal  service 
Transportation     

Clerical  occupations     .... 
Professional  services    .... 
Public  service       

Extraction  of  minerals    .    .   . 
Agricultural  and  animal  hus- 
bandry   

Totals     

1,000 

1,000 

1,000 

1,000 

An  examination  of  the  detailed  distribution  under  any 
one  occupation  shows  that  almost  all  the  industries,  trades, 
and  forms  of  service  are  followed.  Under  manufacturing 
and  the  mechanical  industries  the  occupations  concerned 
with  the  building  trades  predominate,  though  the  machinery 
trades  employ  quite  a  large  number  of  men;  in  transporta- 
tion, the  railway  service  predominates ;  in  trade  and  the  cleri- 
cal occupations  there  is  a  general  distribution  from  clerks 
and  stenographers  to  commercial  travelers  and  retail  deal- 
ers ;  while  in  professional  service  designing  and  engineering 
work  predominate.  A  rather  unusual  percentage  of  men 
are  engaged  in  domestic  and  personal  service.  As  will  be 


1 6  School  Organization  and  Administration 

pointed  out  later  on,  in  connection  with  the  discussion  of  the 
courses  of  study  in  the  schools,  such  a  distribution  of  occu- 
pations calls  for  a  rather  varied  educational  experience  in 
the  schools. 

WEALTH    OF   THE   CITY 

We  pass  finally  to  a  study  of  the  real  wealth  of  the  com- 
munity, to  see  how  able  it  is  to  provide  the  type  of  education 
needed  for  its  large  number  of  children.  The  best  basis 
for  comparison  here  is  the  average  actual  (not  assessed) 
wealth  per  capita  of  the  total  population.  To  obtain  the 
actual  wealth  we  must  take  the  per  capita  assessed  wealth, 
divide  it  by  the  basis  of  assessment,  and  multiply  the  result 
by  100.  This  is  the  same  as  putting  all  cities  on  a  100  per 
cent,  basis  of  assessment,  and  hence  compares  their  actual 
wealth.  Using  the  figures  given  in  the  United  States  Cen- 
sus Bureau's  annual  publication,  Statistics  of  Cities  for 
1913?  we  thus  get  the  following  comparative  table  for  the 
twenty-five  cities  of  the  size  and  class  of  Salt  Lake  City  with 
which  we  have  proposed  to  compare  it : 

*  This  was  at  the  time  the  most  recent  issue  of  this  valuable  year  book. 


The  Problem  Before  Us 


TABLE  VI 

ASSESSED  AND  REAL  WEALTH  PER  CAPITA  OF  THE  TOTAL  POPULATION 


City 

Assessed 
Wealth 
per  Capita 

Basis  of 
Assessment 

Real  Wealth 
per  Capita 

i.    Camden,  N.J  

$503.60 

IOO 

$593.60 

2     Trenton,  N.J  

710.43 

IOO 

710.43 

3      Reading,  Pa  

CC3.4I 

75 

737.88 

4.     Hartford,  Conn  '.    . 

'JO'?.  60 

80 

742.11 

5.    Lowell,  Mass  

771.6? 

IOO 

771.65 

6.    Fall  River,  Mass  

780.02 

IOO 

780.02 

7.    Lawrence,  Mass  

807.67 

IOO 

807.67 

8.    Troy,  N.Y  

825.33 

98 

842.18 

9.     Somerville,  Mass  

846.08 

IOO 

846.08 

10.    Lynn,  Mass  

848.39 

IOO 

848.39 

ii.     Des  Moines,  la  

232.  I< 

25 

Q32.6O 

12.    New  Bedford,  Mass  

0*14.1  2 

IOO 

044.12 

13.     Bridgeport,  Conn  

n/j/jtnT 

IOO 

044.  QI 

14.    Yonkers,  N.Y  

06  ^.oo 

IOO 

06^.00 

15.    Kansas  City,  Kan  
16.     Grand  Rapids,  Mich.      .    .    . 
17.    Cambridge,  Mass  

985.60 
772.49 
1063.30 

IOO 

75 

IOO 

985.60 
1029.99 
1063.30 

18.    Albany,  N.Y  

1014.16 

89 

1130.^1 

19.     Duluth,  Minn  

547.64 

46 

i  100.52 

20.     Dayton,  Ohio  

1228.76 

IOO 

1228.76 

21.    Tacoma,  Wash  

742.33 

60 

1237.21 

22.    Omaha,  Neb  

240.82 

20 

1249.10 

23.    Youngstown,  Ohio  

1526.11 

IOO 

1526.11 

24.     Springfield,  Mass  

I?  36.  I  I 

IOO 

1536.11 

25.     Spokane,  Wash  

66o.77 

42 

1666.12 

26.    SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH 

589.23 

35 

1683.52 

Average  for  the  Group       .    . 
Median  for  the  Group    .    .    . 

$1038.94 
9S4-96 

This  shows  Salt  Lake  City  to  be  the  richest  city  in  the 
group.  Compared  with  Camden,  Fall  River,  Lawrence,  and 
Yonkers,  cities  which  have  somewhere  near  the  same  per- 
centage of  children  (see  Table  IV),  Salt  Lake  City  is  indeed 
a  wealthy  city.  Compared  with  western  cities  Salt  Lake 


i8 


School  Organization  and  Administration 


City  occupies  a  somewhat  middle  position,  being  a  little 
higher  than  the  average  for  the  group,  and  markedly  ex- 
ceeded only  by  Portland,  San  Francisco,  and  the  three 
wealthy  residential  cities  of  southern  California.  This  may 
be  seen  from  the  following  table: 

TABLE  VH 

ASSESSED  AND  REAL  WEALTH  PER  CAPITA  FOR  WESTERN  CITIES  * 


City 

Assessed 
Wealth 
per  Capita 

Basis  of 
Assessment 

Real 
Wealth 
per  Capita 

I. 

Butte,  Mont  

$i;o6.oi 

7C 

$70?.  88 

2. 

San  Jose,  Cal  

648.61 

60 

1081.02 

2. 

Denver,  Colo  . 

C.6?.  2"? 

CO 

1126.50 

Colorado  Springs,  Colo  

4.00.77 

33 

1202.31 

e. 

Tacoma,  Wash  

742.33 

60 

1237.22 

6 

Berkeley,  Cal  

822.68 

60 

1371.13 

7. 

Oakland,  Cal  

738.06 

eo 

1477.02 

8 

Seattle,  Wash  

721.24 

4"> 

1602.77 

Q. 

Spokane,  Wash  <  

6OQ.77 

42 

1666.12 

10. 

II. 

SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH.    .    . 
Sacramento,  Cal  

589.23 
1042.03 

35 
58 

1683.52 
1796.60 

12. 

Pasadena,  Cal  

1280.94 

66 

1921.41 

12. 

Portland,  Ore  

1212.40 

63 

1924.  44 

14 

Los  Angeles,  Cal  

880.20 

46 

1930.87 

1C. 

San  Francisco,  Cal  

1103.32 

AC 

2561.82 

16 

San  Diego,  Cal  

IO5I.O5 

39 

2695.00 

Average  for  the  Group  

$1630.85 

Median  for  the  Group    

1634.45 

These  two  tables  show  Salt  Lake  City  as  of  large  per 
capita  wealth,  even  though  the  number  of  children  in  the 
total  population  is  large.  If  the  city  had  the  usual  small 
proportion  of  children  found  in  western  cities,  it  would  al- 
most equal  Pasadena,  Portland,  or  Los  Angeles  in  its  per 

1  Ogden  unfortunately  cannot  be  included  in  this  table,  for  the  reason 
that  the  United  States  Census  Bureau  does  not  publish  financial  statistics 
for  cities  which  in  1910  had  a  population  of  less  than  30,000. 


The  Problem  Before  Us  19 

capita  wealth.  As  it  is,  it  must  be  classed  as  among  one  of 
the  few  very  rich  cities  of  the  United  States.  When  we 
remember,  further,  that  the  city  has  very  few  really  rich 
people,  we  can  appreciate  what  a  wide  distribution  of  prop- 
erty there  must  be  among  the  population.  It  is  essentially  a 
city  of  the  so-called  middle  class.  This  should  make  the 
maintenance  of  any  public  enterprise,  such  as  schools,  a  rel- 
atively easy  matter. 

THE   CITY   AND   ITS    NEEDS 

We  have  then,  for  study,  a  rapidly  growing  western  city 
of  the  best  type.  It  is  a  city  which,  by  reason  of  its  compar- 
ative isolation,  has  developed  an  independence  for  itself 
which  few  cities  are  able  to  do  or  feel  the  need  of  doing. 
Its  population  is,  as  yet,  very  largely  of  the  best  American 
and  foreign  stocks,  though  a  change  in  its  character  is 
beginning. 

The  city  is  a  city  of  young  people,  of  large  families,  and 
of  large  per  capita  wealth.  The  pinch  of  competition, 
which  in  most  places  has  led  to  a  somewhat  general  reduc- 
tion in  the  size  of  families,  has  been  scarcely  felt  here. 
There  is  still  plenty  of  elbow  room  and  plenty  of  opportu- 
nity. The  city  is  characterized  by  the  vigor  and  the  confi- 
dence in  itself  which  belongs  to  youth. 

The  location  of  Salt  Lake  City  makes  it  certain  that  it  has 
a  large  future  before  it.  This,  the  needs  of  its  occupations 
and  its  industries,  the  general  needs  in  our  national  life  for 
good  education  for  all,  its  large  number  of  children  of  good 
stock,  and  the  increasing  number  of  children  coming  from 
homes  of  an  inferior  type,  all  alike  make  it  important  that 
this  particular  city  maintain  for  its  children  as  good  an  edu- 
cational system  as  it  can  possibly  afford.  Its  large  wealth, 
and,  as  will  be  shown  later,  its  low  per  capita  expense  for 
city  maintenance,  make  it  possible  for  the  city  to  afford  as 
good  an  educational  system  as  is  to  be  found  anywhere  in 
the  land. 


2o  School  Organization  and  Administration 


ORDER   OF   PROCEDURE 

Having  now  examined  somewhat  in  detail  the  character 
and  position  of  Salt  Lake  City  among  cities  of  its  size  and 
class,  we  shall  next  pass  to  an  examination  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  its  educational  system,  the  scope  and  needs  of  the 
system  provided,  the  school  plant  and  its  needs,  the  health 
and  play  needs,  and  the  financial  problem  of  the  system. 


CHAPTER   II 
THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  SYSTEM 

GENERAL  STATE  CONTROL 

TO  provide  for  the  education  of  its  children  the  State  of 
Utah  has,  in  its  constitution,  made  the  maintenance  of 
a  general  system  of  public  schools  a  state  duty,  and  has 
charged  the  legislature  to  provide  for  the  establishment  and 
maintenance  of  schools  in  all  parts  of  the  state.  The  public 
school  system  is,  in  the  constitution,  declared  to  include  all 
schools  from  the  kindergarten  to  and  through  the  state  uni- 
versity. Certain  permanent  funds  to  aid  in  the  support  of 
schools  are  dedicated  to  the  purposes,  the  general  control  of 
the  system  is  vested  in  a  state  board  of  education  and  a  state 
superintendent  of  public  instruction,  rates  of  taxation  for 
state  aid  for  education  are  fixed,  and  the  separate  organiza- 
tion and  control  of  city  school  systems  are  provided  for. 

The  educational  provisions  of  the  constitution  of  the  state 
have  been  amplified  in  the  school  law,  which  now  forms  a 
substantial  volume  of  one  hundred  and  forty  printed  pages. 
The  powers  and  duties  of  the  state  board  of  education  and 
of  the  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction  have  been 
specified,  in  some  detail ;  the  counties  of  the  state  have  been 
organized  into  county-unit  organizations,  under  the  educa- 
tional oversight  of  county  superintendents  of  schools ;  cities 
of  the  first  and  second  class  have  been  allowed  to  organize 
separately  under  city  boards  of  education,  and  the  powers 
and  duties  of  such  have  been  laid  down  at  some  length ;  the 
schools  have  been  made  free  to  all,  and  the  attendance  of 
all  children  between  the  ages  of  eight  and  sixteen  years 
has  been  made  compulsory  for  thirty  weeks  each  year  in 
cities,  and  twenty  weeks  elsewhere  in  the  state. 


22  School  Organization  and  Administration 

CARRYING   OUT   THE   STATE   PURPOSE 

Education  in  Utah,  as  in  practically  all  other  American 
states,  has  been  conceived  as  something  of  such  great  impor- 
tance to  the  future  welfare  of  the  state  that  it  has  not  been 
felt  safe  to  intrust  it  to  the  cities  to  manage.  Education  has 
been  regarded  as  a  "  major  claim  "  of  each  new  generation 
on  the  one  that  has  gone  before  —  a  form  of  debt  which 
each  generation  owes  to  the  new  generation  it  brings  into 
the  world  —  and  as  such  the  state  has  not  been  willing  to 
trust  entirely  the  carrying  out  of  this  important  obligation 
to  local  governmental  units.  Accordingly  the  state  has  pro- 
vided, by  general  law,  for  many  details  of  local  school  ad- 
ministration, and  has  given  boards  of  education  power, 
within  certain  legal  limits,  to  determine  the  sums  needed 
for  properly  carrying  out  this  state  purpose.  The  qualifi- 
cations of  members  for  boards  of  education,  how  they  shall 
be  elected,  when  they  shall  take  office,  how  they  may  be 
removed,  their  compensation,  the  duties  of  the  officers  of 
the  board,  the  department  officers  they  may  appoint,  the 
general  corporate  powers  of  the  board,  their  general  powers 
and  duties,  how  they  shall  estimate  the  city  school  tax,  under 
what  conditions  and  how  they  may  incur  indebtedness  and 
issue  bonds,  and  how  they  may  erect  school  buildings,  — 
all  these  matters  are  laid  down,  in  some  detail,  in  the  school 
laws  of  the  state  instead  of  being  left  to  the  different  cities 
to  determine. 

The  board  of  education,  elected  by  the  people  to  represent 
it  in  the  management  of  their  schools,  in  reality  represents 
the  state  much  more  than  it  does  the  city.  The  state  pur- 
pose of  seeing  that  its  future  citizenship  is  properly  educated 
is  the  important  thing;  the  city  is  merely  an  agent  of  the 
state  in  the  matter.  The  powers  possessed  by  the  board  of 
education  are  derived  from  the  state,  and  not  from  the  city ; 
the  state  can  add  to  or  subtract  from  these,  as  it  wills,  or  it 
could  abolish  the  board  of  education  entirely  and  substitute 
some  other  agency  to  do  its  work.  If  the  board  needs  new 


Organization  of  School  System  23 

or  additional  powers  it  must  ask  the  legislature  for  them; 
if  its  funds  are  not  sufficient  for  the  work  the  legislature 
has  given  it  to  do  it  must  present  its  case  to  the  legislature, 
and  ask  for  an  increase  in  the  school  tax  rate. 


A   BOARD  S    PROPER   FUNCTIONS 

The  board  of  education,  acting  as  a  body,  consequently 
acts  for  the  state  in  the  matter  of  school  control.  Since 
the  people  of  the  city  are  also  citizens  of  the  state  —  in  the 
case  of  Salt  Lake  City  they  constitute  one-fourth  of  the 
citizens  of  the  entire  state  —  the  board  of  education  also 
represents  the  citizens  of  the  city  as  well.  It  represents 
them,  however,  in  their  capacity  as  citizens  of  the  State  of 
Utah,  rather  than  as  citizens  of  Salt  Lake  City. 

It  represents  them,  though,  not  individually,  but  as  a  body, 
and  only  when  in  formal  session.  It  is  only  by  formal  and 
recorded  vote  that  boards  of  education  can  properly  exercise 
any  control.  All  individual  direction  of  the  schools,  unless 
such  individual  power  is  formally  delegated  to  the  individ- 
ual member  by  vote  of  the  board,  is  usurped  direction.  For 
such  individual  direction  the  state  has  provided  other  offi- 
cers, who  devote  their  entire  time  to  the  work,  and  who  are 
much  more  likely  to  direct  the  schools  wisely  and  well. 
When  a  board  of  education  directs  the  work  of  the  schools 
properly,  carefully  selecting  its  executive  officers,  sustaining 
them  in  their  official  acts,  and  replacing  them  whenever  they 
fail  to  act  wisely  or  efficiently  or  honestly,  it  renders  a  con- 
spicuous service  to  the  people  of  the  community  and  to  the 
state  it  serves. 

Whenever,  on  the  contrary,  the  board  assumes  executive 
as  well  as  legislative  functions,  begins  to  participate  in  exec- 
utive work  instead  of  acting  as  a  board  for  school  control, 
and  interferes  with  or  usurps  work  which  it  should  intrust 
to  its  executive  officers,  it  almost  invariably  begins  to  lose 
the  confidence  of  those  whose  confidence  it  should  retain. 
The  principals  and  teachers,  and  ultimately  the  people  as 


24  School  Organization  and  Administration 

well,  lose  confidence  in  its  wisdom,  with  the  inevitable  result 
that  the  efficiency  of  the  schools  themselves  is  impaired.  A 
fundamental  principle  of  proper  city  school  administration 
is  that  it  is  primarily  the  business  of  the  board  of  education 
to  receive  reports  as  to  conditions  and  needs,  to  weigh  rec- 
ommendations, to  determine  the  broader  lines  of  policies, 
and  to  legislate,  while  it  is  primarily  the  business  of  the 
executive  officers  it  employs  to  execute  the  legislation*  and 
policies  which  the  board,  after  hearing  reports  and  deliber- 
ating, has  decided  upon. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  statement  of  principles  that 
a  board  of  education  for  a  city  school  system  occupies  a 
very  important  position,  and  that  upon  its  good  judgment 
as  to  what  to  do  and  what  to  let  alone  depends  much  of  the 
success  of  the  administration  of  the  schools.  By  improper 
organization,  by  doing  too  much,  by  attempting  to  handle 
too  many  things,  by  interfering  too  much  with  the  work  of 
its  executive  officers,  or  by  indecision  as  to  purpose,  a  board 
of  education  may  interfere  seriously  with  the  proper  work- 
ing of  the  schools  under  its  control,  with  the  esprit  de  corps 
of  those  who  render  service  in  its  schools,  and  with  the 
proper  carrying  out  of  that  large  and  important  state  pur- 
pose for  which  they  were  elected  to  office. 

THE   SALT   LAKE    CITY    ORGANIZATION 

To  carry  out  the  state  purpose  in  Salt  Lake  City  the  city 
has  been  classified  by  law  as  a  city  of  the  first  class,  and 
for  the  government  of  the  schools  in  cities  of  the  first  class 
a  board  of  education,  consisting  of  ten  members,  two  elected 
from  each  municipal  ward  in  the  city,  has  been  provided. 
The  term  of  office  is  four  years,  one  member  being  elected 
from  each  municipal  ward  in  December  of  the  odd-num- 
bered years.  The  school  corporation  is  separate  and  distinct 
from  the  municipal  corporation  with  which  it  is  here  coter- 
minous. So  fully  has  this  separation  been  accomplished 
that  in  the  city  auditor's  reports,-  covering  the  different  de- 


Organization  of  School  System  25 

partments  and  phases  of  work  of  the  Salt  Lake  City  corpo- 
ration, the  school  department  does  not  appear.  The  school 
district  is  a  state  corporation,  existing  for  the  carrying  out 
of  a  state  purpose;  the  city  is  a  local  organization  pri- 
marily for  local  municipal  government.  They  are  separate 
and  distinct  corporations,  though  their  boundaries  and  elec- 
torate are  one  and  the  same. 

The  board  of  education  has  provided,  under  its  rules  and 
regulations,  for  the  appointment  of  five  standing  commit- 
tees, each  consisting  of  five  members  and  the  president  of 
the  board.  These  standing  committees  are  (i)  Rules,  (2) 
School  Law,  (3)  Teachers  and  School  Work,  (4)  Building 
and  Grounds,  and  (5)  Finance.  A  careful  reading  of  the 
minutes  of  the  board  for  more  than  a  year  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  the  first  two  committees  are  not  especially  im- 
portant ones,  but  that  the  other  three  are  committees  which 
transact  a  large  amount  of  business  and  assume  many  im- 
portant functions. 

The  board  has  further  organized  the  administration  of 
the  school  system  under  three  separate  and  distinct  depart- 
ments. These  are  (i)  the  clerical  and  purchasing  depart- 
ment, in  charge  of  a  school  clerk,  (2)  the  building  depart- 
ment, in  charge  of  a  superintendent  of  buildings,  and  (3) 
the  educational  department,  in  charge  of  a  superintendent 
of  schools.  A  treasurer  is  also  appointed,  to  care  for  and 
pay  out  the  school  moneys. 

COMMITTEES   AND   DEPARTMENTS 

As  far  as  could  be  ascertained  by  inquiry,  by  a  reading  of 
the  official  minutes  of  the  proceedings  of  the  board,  and  by 
an  examination  of  the  printed  rules  and  regulations  of  the 
board  of  education,  these  three  departments  seem  to  be 
on  a  plane  of  theoretical  equality,  each  handling  the  business 
within  its  own  field  somewhat  independently  of  the  other 
two.  The  school  clerk  works  largely  through  the  committee 
on  finance,  the  superintendent  of  buildings  largely  through 


26  School  Organization  and  Administration 

the  committee  on  buildings  and  grounds,  and  the  superin- 
tendent of  schools  largely  through  the  committee  on  teachers 
and  school  work.  These  committees  then  report  to  the 
board  of  education,  which  serves  as  a  coordinating  body  for 
the  three  separate  administrative  departments  and  the  three 
important  board  committees.  In  effect,  three  separate 
boards  exist,  each  large  enough  to  be  a  board  of  education 
in  itself,  and  each  handling  an  important  division  of  the  edu- 
cational work  of  the  city.  To  harmonize  results  the  three 
boards  meet  together  as  a  body,  after  they  have  come  to 
independent  decisions. 

The  diagram  on  the  following  page  shows  the  existing 
form  of  organization  and  the  existing  relationships.  The 
board  of  education  is  shown  as  large  and  important,  as  it 
now  is.  Below  it  and  intermediary  between  it  and  the  heads 
of  its  departments  are  the  board  committees,  and  then  come 
the  heads  of  departments  and  their  staffs.  The  position  of 
any  person  on  the  diagram  indicates  his  authority  and  re- 
sponsibility to  those  below  him  and  above  him,  and  the  con- 
necting lines  indicate  lines  of  relationship  and  responsibil- 
ity. A  lack  of  connecting  lines  in  the  same  way  indicates 
lack  of  coordinating  authority  or  responsibility. 

PRESENT   ORGANIZATION    WRONG   IN    PRINCIPLE 

The  inevitable  result  of  such  an  arrangement  is  frequent 
and  long  committee  meetings,  much  discussion,  and  board 
meetings  often  lasting  until  late  at  night.  The  constant 
tendency  under  such  a  system  of  administration  is  for  the 
committees  to  become  very  important  administrative  bodies, 
and  for  the  chairman  of  each  to  usurp  some  or  many  of  the 
functions  of  the  executive  heads  of  departments.  Espe- 
cially is  this  likely  to  prove  dangerous  in  the  case  of  the 
committee  on  teachers  and  school  work,  the  chairman  of 
which  is  very  likely,  almost  unconsciously,  to  take  over  many 
of  the  functions  that  properly  belong  to  the  superintendent 
of  schools  and  to  become,  as  it  were,  a  second  head  of  the 


Organization  of  School  System 


27 


I 

C/3 


28  School  Organization  and  Administration 

educational  department;  passing-,  in  turn,  on  all  the  super- 
intendent's recommendations  as  to  teachers,  principals,  and 
supervisory  officers,  and  substituting  his  opinion  or  the 
opinion  of  his  committee  for  that  of  the  superintendent  as 
to  the  employment,  retention,  and  service  of  members  of 
the  educational  force. 

The  present  organization  is  not  only  wrong  in  principle, 
but  it  is  fraught  with  continual  danger  of  misunderstandings 
and  trouble.  The  committees  are  too  prominent  in  the  ad- 
ministration, and  the  school  clerk  and  the  superintendent 
of  buildings  enjoy  too  large  independence  in  action.  An 
examination  of  the  printed  annual  reports  of  the  board  for 
a  number  of  years  past  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the 
school  clerk  is  the  real  head  of  the  school  system,  rather 
than  the  superintendent  of  schools.  His  reports  come  first 
and  are  the  most  elaborate,  and  he,  rather  than  the  super- 
intendent of  schools,  discusses  the  question  of  finances  and 
says  what  he  thinks  as  to  possible  economies.1  The  present 
large  independence  of  the  superintendent  of  buildings,  es- 
pecially in  the  matter  of  repairs  and  alterations  and  the 

1  By  way  of  illustration  the  following  quotation  from  the  clerk's  report  to 
the  board,  printed  in  the  24th  annual  report  (1913-14),  p.  16,  may  be  cited: 

"For  twenty  years  the  cost  per  pupil  has  been  steadily  increasing,  and  if 
the  special  efforts  put  forth  this  year  have  stayed  that  advance,  and  in  fact 
reduced  the  cost  per  pupil,  there  is  no  doubt  that  much  more  could  be  accom- 
plished by  continuing  the  efforts  for  a  more  efficient  and  economical  adminis- 
tration of  our  school  system." 

Such  a  statement,  well  intended,  no  doubt,  is  nevertheless  misleading,  and 
only  serves  to  raise  hopes  that  cannot  be  realized  without  impairing  the  efficiency 
of  the  system.  An  analysis  of  the  tables  submitted  in  the  clerk's  report  shows 
that  the  reduction  in  cost  mentioned  was  only  made  by  employing  cheaper 
teachers,  increasing  the  number  of  pupils  per  teacher,  and  reducing  the  expenses 
for  renewals  and  repairs.  Such  reductions  could  not  be  continued  without  seri- 
ously impairing  the  efficiency  of  the  schools,  yet  the  statement  as  printed  leaves 
the  opposite  inference.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  reduction  in  expenses  by  such 
means  has  gone  too  far  now,  and  the  printing  of  such  a  statement  tends  to  make 
more  difficult  a  change  in  the  right  direction.  All  such  statements  should  meet 
with  the  approval  of  the  superintendent  of  schools  before  being  given  to  the 
public,  and  only  serve  to  emphasize  the  necessity  of  having  one  and  only  one 
head  of  the  administrative  system. 


Organization  of  School  System  29 

employment  of  janitors,  is  also  fundamentally  wrong,  and 
is  certain  to  result  in  expenditures  which  ought  not  to  be 
made,  and  in  the  failure  to  perform  work  which  ought  to 
be  performed.  That  it  has  done  so  is  well  pointed  out  in 
Chapter  X. 

One  gets  the  idea  from  reading  a  few  years  of  the  annual 
printed  reports,  and  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  board, 
that  the  educational  department  in  the  Salt  Lake  City  school 
system  occupies  a  rather  inferior  position  in  the  administra- 
tive organization,  and  that  it  is  allowed  to  exercise  but  little 
supervisory  control  over  the  other  administrative  depart- 
ments. Only  the  compulsory  attendance  work  is  specifically 
placed  under  the  direction  of  the  superintendent  of  schools. 
The  underlying  theory  seems  to  be  that  the  educational  de- 
partment is  a  separate  and  isolated  department  instead  of 
being  the  premier  department  of  the  whole  system. 

RIGHT    PRINCIPLES    IN    SCHOOL    ORGANIZATION 

A  thoroughly  fundamental  principle  in  all  proper  school 
organization  and  administration  is  that  there  should  be  a 
real  unity  in  the  organization  and  a  responsibility  to  one 
head  in  the  administration,  and  that  the  head  of  the  school 
system  should  be  no  other  than  the  superintendent  of 
schools.  Through  him,  as  the  head  of  the  school  system, 
the  board  should  work.  The  educational  department  is  not 
a  minor  or  a  subordinate  or  even  a  coordinate  department, 
but  is  the  one  for  which  all  the  other  departments  exist. 
All  forms  of  administrative  machinery,  and  all  officers  of 
control  and  department  heads,  exist  for  the  prime  purpose 
of  assisting  the  educational  department  to  get  teachers 
and  children  together  under  the  best  possible  educational 
conditions.  Some  departments  have,  in  addition,  as  one  of 
their  important  purposes  that  of  saving  money  for  the 
educational  department,  and  of  deflecting  as  large  a  per- 
centage as  possible  into  the  work  of  actual  instruction. 
Every  overcharge  detected  by  the  clerk,  every  dollar  saved 


3O  School  Organization  and  Administration 

in  the  purchase  of  supplies,  every  economy  effected  in  the 
erection  or  repair  of  school  buildings,  is  added  money  for 
increasing  the  effectiveness  of  the  instruction  in  the  schools. 
The  only  excuse  for  having  a  clerical,  purchasing,  or  build- 
ing department  is  that  such  may  serve  the  educational 
department. 

In  all  well-organized  school  systems  this  relationship  is 
clearly  recognized,  and  these  officials  work  under  the  direc- 
tion and  report  through  the  superintendent  of  schools.  The 
board  then  deals  largely  with  the  superintendent,  and  holds 
him  responsible  for  results  and  efficient  service.  Whenever 
the  superintendent  is  not  able  to  secure  these,  or  to  retain 
the  confidence  of  the  board  of  education  as  a  body,  the 
board  should  consider  a  change  in  its  executive  head.  It 
should  not  retain  the  executive  and  take  his  work  away 
from  him. 

A   PROPER   ADMINISTRATIVE   REORGANIZATION 

A  proper  reorganization  of  the  work  in  Salt  Lake  City 
would  be  as  shown  in  the  second  diagram  given.  This 
shows  the  position,  relative  importance,  and  lines  of  rela- 
tionship and  authority  which  should  exist  in  city  school 
organization  and  administration  in  a  city  such  as  Salt  Lake 
City.  The  superintendent  of  schools,  rather  than  the  board 
of  education,  should  be  the  central  coordinating  authority, 
and  the  work  of  the  board  committees,  if  it  is  felt  necessary 
to  retain  these,  should  be  materially  reduced  in  consequence. 
The  school  clerk  and  the  superintendent  of  buildings,  while 
still  working  with  their  proper  committees,  and  still  having 
somewhat  independent  powers  of  action  in  their  respective 
fields,  should  nevertheless  be  under  the  coordinating  author- 
ity and  should  report  through  the  superintendent  of 
schools. 

Directions  given  or  work  assigned  to  the  school  principals 
by  the  school  clerk,  or  to  the  school  janitors  by  the  superin- 
tendent of  buildings,  should  be  subject  to  the  approval  of 


Organization  of  School  System 


H      >.'? 
H     -3  o 


a' 

fi 


32  School  Organization  and  Administration 

the  superintendent  of  schools;  school  supplies  should  be 
purchased  only  after  first  conferring  with  the  superintend- 
ent of  schools  as  to  quality  and  kind  and  relative  amounts ; 
repairs  and  alterations  to  school  buildings  should  only  be 
made  after  approval  as  to  nature  and  cost  by  the  superin- 
tendent; and  financial  estimates  should  be  made  and  sub- 
mitted through  the  responsible  head  of  the  school  system. 
Such  a  reorganization  in  control,  if  coupled  with  the  adop- 
tion of  certain  new  rules  tending  to  place  proper  responsi- 
bility with  the  executive  officers  employed  by  the  board, 
would  materially  reduce  the  number  and  the  length  of  the 
present  committee  meetings,  and  the  necessity  for  the  board 
spending  such  a  large  amount  of  time  in  serving  as  a  co- 
ordinating body  for  the  present  separate  departments  and 
committee  control. 

THE   PUBLIC   AND   THE   SUPERINTENDENT 

The  superintendent  of  schools  should  be  made  the  respon- 
sible head  of  the  whole  school  system.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
he  is  really  held  as  such  by  both  the  board  of  education  and 
the  public.  If  expenses  mount  up  too  rapidly,  if  the  school 
accounts  are  not  properly  kept,  if  the  supplies  furnished 
the  schools  are  poor  or  inadequate  or  are  too  lavishly  pro- 
vided, if  the  school  buildings  are  not  of  the  right  type  or 
cost  too  much,  if  they  are  not  properly  cared  for  and  made 
available  when  needed,  if  the  expense  for  building  upkeep 
is  too  high,  if  harmony  among  the  different  officers  and  parts 
of  the  school  system  does  not  prevail,  if  the  work  of  the 
schools  is  not  up  to  standard,  or  if  a  dozen  other  possible 
things  do  or  do  not  come  to  pass,  the  board  and  the  public 
rightly  tend  to  hold  the  superintendent  of  schools  to  be  the 
responsible  person.  Even  in  many  matters  by  law  under 
board  control,  the  public  nevertheless  looks  to  the  super- 
intendent as  the  responsible  party. 

This  should  mean  that  the  superintendent  of  schools 
should  be  made  the  actual  as  well  as  the  nominal  head  of 


Organization  of  School  System  33 

the  school  system,  and  then  should  be  held  to  strict  account- 
ability for  its  successful  operation.  This  is  the  method 
followed  in  all  successful  corporation  control.  This  should 
also  mean  that  his  recommendations  on  matters  which  he 
is  supposed  to  know  more  about  than  members  of  the  board 
possibly  can  should  not  be  turned  down,  except  after  the 
most  careful  consideration.  In  all  matters  relating  to  the 
appointment,  promotion,  transfer,  and  dismissal  of  teachers, 
principals,  and  supervisory  officers,  the  initiative  should  rest 
absolutely  with  him,  and  only  in  cases  of  great  importance 
should  the  board  reject  his  recommendations.  In  no  case 
should  any  board  member  be  privileged  to  substitute  a  name 
of  his  own  choice. 

No  board  member  is  competent  to  pass  on  such  matters, 
and  attempts  to  do  so  not  only  lead  to  fundamental  educa- 
tional mistakes  but,  what  is  even  more  serious,  tend  to  de- 
moralize a  teaching  force.  If  a  teaching  force  is  to  possess 
esprit  de  corps  and  be  devoted  to  its  work,  it  must  have  con- 
fidence in  its  leaders  and  in  their  ability  to  protect  them 
from  injustice  and  mismanagement.  Whenever  a  board  of 
education  is  unwilling  to  continue  to  place  this  confidence 
in  its  superintendent  the  time  has  come  for  a  change,  either 
in  the  superintendent  or  in  the  board.  Similarly,  in  all  mat- 
ters relating  to  courses  of  instruction  and  studies  the  super- 
intendent should  be  in  full  control.  On  no  other  basis  can 
he  be  responsible  for  the  successful  conduct  of  the  schools. 

By  the  mere  adoption  of  such  rules  of  procedure,  which 
are  based  on  sound  administrative  practice,  the  work  and 
importance  of  the  committee  on  teachers  and  school  work 
would  be  greatly  reduced,  and  every  member  of  the  school 
board  would  be  freed  from  what  is,  perhaps,  the  greatest 
annoyance  a  school  board  member  is  subjected  to.  To  all 
applicants  for  positions,  to  all  disgruntled  teachers  and 
principals,  and  to  all  interested  friends,  the  board  members 
could  at  once  tell  them  to  see  the  superintendent  of  schools, 
as  full  control  of  all  such  matters  had  been  placed  in  hi? 
hands.  In  placing  full  responsibility  there  the  board  would 


34  School  Organization  and  Administration 

•  only  be  doing  what  the  board  of  directors  of  any  well-man- 
aged sugar  factory,  cement  plant,  department  store,  or  street 
railway  continually  does.  The  key  to  efficient  management 
lies  in  the  concentration  of  both  authority  and  responsibility 
in  trained  executive  officers,  and  the  refusal  of  the  directors 
of  the  corporation  to  interfere  with  its  experts  in  technical 
matters  relating  to  the  administration  of  the  property. 

A    MORE   FUNDAMENTAL   REORGANIZATION   DESIRABLE 

The  above  changes  in  organization  and  responsibility 
can  be  made  by  the  board  on  its  own  initiative,  and  without 
change  in  existing  law.  All  that  is  necessary  is  a  change 
in  its  rules.  The  organization  and  administration  of  the 
school  system  could  be  still  further  improved  by  a  new  state 
law  for  the  administration  of  school  systems  in  cities  of  the 
first  class.  As  some  changes  in  existing  laws  are  necessary, 
if  the  schools  of  Salt  Lake  City  are  not  to  be  seriously 
cramped  in  the  future,  it  is  possible  that  all  the  changes 
might  be  obtained  from  the  legislature  at  the  same  time. 

The  desirable  changes  should  include  a  reduction  of  the 
board  of  education  from  a  board  of  ten,  elected  from  wards, 
to  one  of  five,  elected  from  the  city  at  large.  However  well 
it  may  have  worked  in  Salt  Lake  City,  the  ward  system  is 
nevertheless  undesirable  and  has  been  abandoned  by  many 
cities.  The  almost  universal  experience  has  been  that  board 
members  have  averaged  higher  from  the  city  at  large  than 
when  selected  along  ward  lines,  and  petty  local  politics  and 
local  feelings  influence  the  board  much  less  in  its  actions. 
The  school  system  of  a  city  is  a  unit,  and  board  members 
should  represent  this  larger  unit  and  not  some  portion  of  it. 
So  far,  we  are  informed,  the  ward  system  has  worked  out 
well  in  Salt  Lake  City,  but  sooner  or  later,  with  the  growth 
and  change  in  character  of  the  city,  it  is  almost  certain 
to  bring  undesirable  members  to  the  board.  It  should  be 
abandoned  now  before  bad  results  begin  to  be  too  evident. 

The  board  at  present,  also,  is  too  large.    A  board  of  five, 


Organization  of  School  System  35 

one  that  could  meet  in  a  much  smaller  room  and  around  a 
single  table,  and  with  much  more  board  and  little  or  no 
committee  action,  would  handle  the  educational  business 
more  quietly,  more  expeditiously,  and  more  efficiently  than 
a  board  of  ten  members  can,  and  with  fewer  conflicts  with 
its  executive  officers  and  fewer  reversals  of  its  actions.  A 
large  board  almost  always  leads  to  unnecessary  discussion, 
and  often  has  to  reverse  itself.  A  board  of  five,  one  elected 
each  year  as  now  and  for  a  five-year  term,  would  represent 
a  better  form  of  educational  organization.  With  the  smaller 
board  the  present  great  waste  of  time  in  committee  action 
could  be  obviated,  as  a  board  of  five  has  no  real  need  for 
standing  committees.  Business  will  be  transacted  better  if 
all  committees  are  temporary,  and  if  the  board  acts  on  the 
recommendation  of  its  executive  officers  first  and  finally  as 
a  body. 

SUMMARY   OF   RECOMMENDATIONS 

The  survey  commission  accordingly  recommends  that  the 
rules  and  regulations  of  the  board  of  education  be  revised 
along  the  lines  of  the  recommendations  of  this  chapter ;  that 
coordinating  authority  and  responsibility  for  proper  admin- 
istration be  concentrated  in  one  executive  head;  that  com- 
mittee action  be  materially  decreased  by  placing  larger  re- 
sponsibility with  the  board's  executive  officers ;  and  that,  at 
the  first  legislative  opportunity,  a  revision  of  the  state  school 
law  as  it  relates  to  cities  of  the  first  class  be  attempted,  and 
along  the  lines  of  the  suggested  law  given  in  the  Appendix 
to  this  report. 


CHAPTER    III 

ADMINISTRATION    OF   THE    EDUCATIONAL 
DEPARTMENT 

HAVING  now  located  the  city  we  are  to  study,  and  hav- 
ing described  the  educational  organization  which  the 
legislature  of  the  state  and  the  board  of  education  for  the  city 
have  created  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  state  man- 
date as  to  schools,  we  shall  turn  next  to  a  study  of  the  or- 
ganization and  administration  of  the  educational  depart- 
ment, and  from  this  proceed  to  a  study  of  the  work  of  the 
schools  themselves.  The  building  department  will  be  con- 
sidered more  fully  in  Part  III  of  this  report,  while  the 
financial  portion  of  the  problem  will  be  taken  up  in  Part  IV. 

WORK   OF   THE   EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT 

In  a  city  which  is  growing  as  rapidly  as  Salt  Lake  City, 
the  problem  of  adequately  caring  for  all  the  children  be- 
comes a  pressing  one.  In  the  twenty-four  years  since  the 
unification  of  the  schools  under  one  city  board,  the  school 
census  and  the  enrollment  in  the  schools  have  trebled,  while 
the  number  of  children  in  average  membership  has  quad- 
rupled. During  the  same  period  the  number  of  teachers  em- 
ployed has  increased  six  times.  Within  the  past  decade 
there  has  been  a  general  increase  of  about  forty  per  cent, 
in  all  these  items.  During  the  past  five  years  the  gain 
in  enrollment  has  averaged  20  children  a  week  for  a  fifty- 
two-week  year,  and  during  the  past  two  years  it  has  aver- 
aged 23  children  a  week.  This  means,  on  the  last  two  years 
of  growth,  that  three  new  twelve-classroom  school  buildings 
must  be  opened  every  year  to  accommodate  the  increase  in 

36 


Administration  of  the  Educational  Department       37 

children  enrolled  in  the  schools.  The  pressure  to  provide 
teachers,  classrooms,  supervision,  and  teaching  supplies  puts 
a  strain  on  the  administrative  organization  and  resources 
of  a  city  that  is  growing  at  such  a  rate. 

The  prime  purpose  of  the  educational  department  is  to  see 
that  the  teachers  and  children  are  brought  together  under  as 
good  conditions  for  instruction  as  is  possible.  This  involves 
buildings,  lighting,  heating,  ventilation,  apparatus  and  sup- 
plies, playgrounds,  and  teachers,  of  course,  but  it  also  in- 


t 

FIG.  6.    A  QUARTER-CENTURY  OF  GROWTH  IN  THE  SALT  LAKE  CITY  SCHOOLS 


volves  an  intelligently  conceived  educational  purpose,  and 
a  system  of  school  administration  and  supervision  calcu- 
lated to  secure  the  best  educational  results  that  each  super- 
visory officer,  teacher,  and  child  is  capable  of  giving.  An 
important  test  of  a  system  of  school  supervision  is  how  far 
it  brings  out  the  best  which  each  one  connected  with  the 
system  has  to  give.  In  this  chapter  we  shall  examine  into 
the  sufficiency  and  the  character  of  the  system  of  super- 


38  School  Organization  and  Administration 

vision  in  force  with  reference  to  its  ability  to  secure  these 
larger  ends. 

THE   SUPERVISORY   STAFF 

At  the  head  of  the  educational  department  is  a  superin- 
tendent of  schools,  and  to  assist  him  in  his  work  of  supervis- 
ing the  instruction  the  following  staff  has  been  employed : 

Supervisor  of  grammar  grades. 

Supervisor  of  primary  grades. 

Supervisor  of  physical  education. 

Supervisor  of  manual  training. 

Director  of  physical  education  for  elementary  schools. 

Director  of  art  and  hand  work  in  the  primary  grades. 

Director  of  domestic  science  and  arts. 

Supervising  principal  of  high  schools. 
2  Principals  of  high  schools. 
28  Principals  of  elementary  schools. 
38  Total. 

One  of  the  first  questions  that  naturally  arises  is  as  to 
the  adequacy  or  inadequacy  of  this  force.  One  method  of 
answering  this  question  is  to  compare  Salt  Lake  City  with 
other  cities,  to  see  where  it  stands  in  the  matter  of  super- 
visory assistance.  Compared  with  the  same  western  cities 
used  in  Table  III  we  obtain  the  table  on  the  following  page, 
from  which  it  is  seen  that  the  supervisory  staff  at  present 
employed  is  certainly  moderate. 

Data  by  which  a  comparison  with  all  the  twenty-five  cities 
used  in  Table  I  could  be  made  are  not  available,  as  some 
of  the  cities  failed  to  report  the  number  of  supervisory 
officers  separately,  and  some  use  a  group  system  for  prin- 
cipalships  which  makes  comparison  impossible.  The  figures 
given  for  such  eastern  and  middle-western  cities  used  in 
Table  I  as  are  comparable  make  a  showing  similar  to  that 
for  western  cities  with  reference  to  the  position  of  Salt 
Lake  City  in  the  matter  of  supervision. 

The  conclusion  from  these  figures  would  certainly  be  that 
Salt  Lake  City  has  too  few  rather  than  too  many  super- 


Administration  of  the  Educational  Department      39 


TABLE  VIII 

NUMBER  OF  PUPILS  IN  AVERAGE  DAILY  ATTENDANCE  FOR  EACH  SUPERVISORY 

OFFICER  l 

I.    Western  Cities 


City 

Pupils  per 
Super- 
visory 
Officer 

City 

Pupils  per 
Super- 
visory 
Officer! 

Colorado  Springs,  Colo. 
Sacramento,  Cal.     .    . 
Pasadena,  Cal.     .    .    . 
San  Diego,  Cal.    .    .    . 
Butte,  Mont  

208 
252 
262 
283 

2Q6 

Spokane,  Wash.  .  . 
San  Francisco,  Cal.  . 
Seattle,  Wash.  .  . 
Denver,  Colo.  .  .  . 
Berkeley,  Cal.  . 

369 
397 
400 

423 

4.-J2 

Ogden,  Utah    .... 
Tacoma,  Wash.   .   .    . 

Los  Angeles,  Cal.     .    . 
San  Jos6,  Cal.      .    .    . 

312 
33i 

333 

365 

Oakland,  Cal.     .    .   . 
SALT  LAKE   CITY, 
UTAH    
Portland,  Ore.    .   .    . 

445 

460 

5i3 

Average  for  the  Group 

354 

Median  for  the  Group 

365 

II.    Eastern  and  Middle-Western  Cities 


City 

Pupils  per 
Super- 
visory 
Officer 

City 

Pupils  per 
Super- 
visory 
Officer 

Trenton,  N.J.      .    .    . 

182 

Albany,  N.Y.     .    .    . 

372 

Troy,  N.Y  

227 

Duluth,  Minn.  .    .    . 

381 

New  Bedford,  Mass.  . 
Des  Moines,  Iowa   .    . 
Youngstown,  Ohio 
Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 

Kansas  City,  Kan.  .    . 
Camden,  N.J.      .   .   . 

269 
291 
341 

359 
360 

Omaha,  Neb.      .    .    . 
Yonkers,  N.Y.    .    .    . 
Dayton,  Ohio     .    .    . 
SALT  LAKE  CITY, 
UTAH    
Springfield,  Mass. 
Lowell,  Mass.     .   .   . 

400 

445 
446 

460 
464 
479 

Average  for  the  Group 

343 

Median  for  the  Group 

sn 

1  This  and  the  following  table  were  compiled  from  data  given  in  the  then  last 
printed  report  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education. 


4O  School  Organization  and  Administration 

visors.  If  we  deduct  the  school  principals,  as  being  primarily 
building  supervisors,  we  have  left  one  supervising  principal 
of  high  schools,  who  gives  but  part  time  to  the  work,  two 
general  supervisors  of  grade  work,  and  five  supervisors 
of  special  subjects.  This  is  a  number  too  small  for  a  city 
with  22,635  children  enrolled  and  with  the  character  of  the 
teaching  force  now  being  drawn  into  the  schools. 


THE   PRESENT   SPECIAL   SUPERVISION 

The  provision  of  a  supervisor  of  grammar-grade  work 
and  a  supervisor  of  primary  work,  instead  of  two  general 
assistant  superintendents  of  schools,  is  a  good  point  in  the 
Salt  Lake  City  system.  By  specializing  the  work  of  these 
two  supervisors  the  tendency  to  become  office  workers  and 
inspectors,  so  common  in  city  school  systems,  has  been 
almost  entirely  obviated.  A  somewhat  careful  investigation 
of  the  work  of  these  two  supervisors,  made  both  in  the 
classroom  and  by  an  examination  of  the  work  which  they 
have  sent  out  during  the  past  year  to  teachers,  gave  the 
impression  that  both  these  persons  were  making  an  earnest 
effort  to  make  of  themselves  helpful  supervisors  to  the 
teachers  in  the  schools.  It  was  the  feeling  of  the  members 
of  the  survey  staff  that  the  city  was  getting  good  returns 
from  the  money  spent  on  these  two  supervisors. 

The  work  of  the  supervisors  of  physical  education  and 
manual  training  is  commented  upon  at  length  elsewhere  in 
this  report.  It  was  the  feeling  of  all  the  members  of  the 
survey  staff  who  examined  at  all  into  the  work  under  their 
charge  that  the  city  could  do  much  better  by  making  changes 
in  supervisors  in  these  two  subjects,  and  that  in  the  present 
supervision  the  city  is  not  getting  real  value  for  the  money 
expended.  It  would  be  better  economy  to  pay  larger  sal- 
aries, if  necessary,  and  secure  persons  able  to  direct  the 
work  of  these  two  important  departments  along  better  edu- 
cational lines. 


Administration  of  the  Educational  Department      41 

The  work  seen  in  domestic  science,  and  in  art  and  hand 
work  in  the  lower  grades,  gave  evidence  of  good  prepara- 
tion and  leadership  on  the  part  of  these  directors.  It  was 
evident  that  the  directors  of  these  subjects  were  making 
themselves  helpful  to  the  schools. 

FURTHER   SUPERVISORY   NEEDS 

The  number  of  special  supervisors  at  present  employed  is, 
however,  too  small.  The  number  is  actually  smaller  now 
than  it  was  a  few  years  ago,  though  the  number  of  teachers 
and  pupils  have  both  materially  increased  and  the  educa- 
tional problem  in  the  city  has  become  more  difficult.  With 
the  present  practice  of  the  city  in  taking  cheaper  and  less 
well-prepared  young  women  for  the  teaching  service,  com- 
mented on  at  some  length  in  the  following  chapter,  and  the 
further  objectionable  practice  of  pushing  up  the  number  of 
pupils  per  teacher,  the  need  for  good  building-principals 
and  for  plenty  of  good  and  helpful  special  supervision  can 
hardly  be  overemphasized. 

There  is  need  in  Salt  Lake  City  for  the  employment  of  a 
good  supervisor  of  drawing  for  the  grade  work.  This  work 
is  too  important  to  be  neglected  as  it  now  is.  A  good  super- 
visor of  vocal  and  instrumental  music  and  a  director  of 
bands  and  orchestras  ought  also  to  be  provided.  While  the 
music  instruction  in  the  schools  was  in  general  good,  there 
were  many  places  where  it  was  not  good,  while  the  few  feeble 
attempts  at  the  establishment  of  school  orchestras  seen, 
almost  entirely  due  to  the  individual  efforts  of  some  prin- 
cipal, were  only  a  suggestion  of  what  might  be  done  under 
proper  direction.  An  orchestra  ought  to  be  developed  in 
each  elementary  school,  and  a  number  of  elementary  school 
bands  also  should  be  organized.  A  community  of  the  size 
and  character  of  Salt  Lake  City  ought  to  be  developed  into 
a  musical  city,  and  a  community  is  musical  only  when  its 
people  as  a  mass  love  music  and  can  produce  it  in  some  form. 
Music  and  drawing  are  very  important  forms  of  self-ex- 


42  School  Organization  and  Administration 

pression,  and  self-expression  is  a  very  important  but  often 
neglected  element  in  all  education. 

A  city  the  size  of  Salt  Lake  City,  and  of  its  peculiar  type 
and  location,  also  would  find  a  good  supervisor  of  school 
gardens,  elementary  science,  and  agricultural  instruction 
a  good  investment.  School  gardening,  agricultural  instruc- 
tion, manual  training,  and  domestic  science  are  all  subjects 
of  large  practical  value,  and  subjects  which  this  school  sys- 
tem ought  to  emphasize.  As  will  be  pointed  out  more  in 
detail  in  Chapter  VIII  of  this  report,  an  excess  of  time  is 
now  devoted  to  instruction  in  the  so-called  fundamental 
subjects,  and  at  the  expense  of  these  so-called  expression 
subjects. 

With  the  development  of  the  junior  high  schools  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  city,  part-time  supervision  of  the  work 
in  languages,  English,  history,  and  science  could  with  ad- 
vantage be  extended  to  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades,  by 
some  one  designated  by  the  superintendent  from  these  de- 
partments in  the  high  school,  and  at  little  extra  expense. 

THE   WORTH    OF   SUPERVISION 

The  whole  question  as  to  the  value  of  special  supervision 
depends  upon  its  character  and  upon  the  type  of  special 
supervisors  employed.  If  the  special  supervision  is  good, 
and  if  the  supervisors  extend  helpful  assistance  to  the 
teachers  and  make  them  stronger  in  their  work,  special 
supervision  always  gives  large  educational  returns.  Noth- 
ing pays  such  large  dividends  in  any  line  of  work  as  plenty 
of  good  brains  at  the  top.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  super- 
vision is  poor  in  quality  and  inspectorial  in  character,  money 
spent  on  it  is  largely  money  thrown  away.  Nearly  every- 
thing depends  on  the  character  of  the  supervisors  employed. 
Cheap  supervision  is  very  likely  to  be  poor  supervision,  but 
expensive  supervision  may  not  be  good  supervision.  It  pays 
a  city  to  offer  good  salaries  for  such  work,  and  to  make  its 
selections  from  a  wide  market.  As  a  general  proposition, 


Administration  of  the  Educational  Department      43 

though  not  always  true,  supervisors  from  the  outside  should 
be  preferred  to  the  promotion  of  individuals  from  within 
the  force,  because  of  the  new  ideas  they  can  bring  into  the 
school  system. 

In  the  choice  of  all  special  supervisors,  who  represent  as 
it  were  a  part  of  the  superintendent's  cabinet,  the  entire 
choice  should  be  placed  with  him,  and  he  should  be  made  to 
feel  that  he  is  free  to  go  anywhere  to  get  the  right  persons 
for  the  work.  In  the  preceding  chapter  it  was  stated  as  a 
correct  principle  of  action  that  board  members  should  turn 
the  selection  and  dismissal  of  all  teachers  over  to  the  super- 
intendent. Much  more  shpuld  this  be  done  in  the  matter 
of  special  supervisors.  A  mistake  made  by  board  members 
in  selecting  a  teacher  is  local  and  isolated,  and  can  be  rem- 
edied, but  a  mistake  in  selecting  special  supervisors  is  wide- 
spread in  its  influence  and  hard  to  remove.  The  choice 
and  direction  of  special  supervisors  require  an  expertness 
of  judgment  which  few  laymen  ever  possess,  and  if  board 
members  begin  to  urge  personal  candidates  for  such  posi- 
tions, in  opposition  to  the  recommendations  of  the  super- 
intendent, the  supervisorial  system  can  soon  be  demoralized 
and  its  usefulness  in  large  part  destroyed. 

THE   SCHOOL    PRINCIPALS 

The  members  of  the  survey  staff  were  much  pleased  with 
what  they  saw  of  the  elementary  school  principals,  and  the 
work  they  were  doing  in  the  supervision  of  their  schools. 
Usually  the  elementary  school  principalship  is  the  weakest 
place  in  the  entire  school  system,  and  one  generally  finds 
more  dead  wood  in  such  positions  than  in  any  other  place. 
In  Salt  Lake  City  this  was  not  the  case.  On  the  contrary, 
with  a  few  exceptions,  the  elementary  school  principals  were 
a  good  body  of  supervisory  officers,  interested  in  their  work 
and  professionally  awake.  Some  of  them  were  among  the 
most  efficient  school  principals  members  of  the  survey  staff 
had  ever  seen,  and  their  helpfulness  to  their  teachers  and 


44  School  Organization  and  Administration 

their  influence  on  both  teachers  and  children  seemed  strong 
and  good.  One  characteristic  noted  was  that,  if  a  member 
of  the  survey  staff  arrived  at  a  school  building  after  school 
had  begun,  he  usually  had  to  ring  the  hall  bell  to  find  the 
principal.  He  was  somewhere  in  the  rooms,  busy  with  his 
work,  instead  of  sitting  on  his  chair  in  his  office.  In  many 
school  systems  one  seldom  finds  a  school  principal,  during 
school  hours,  off  his  office  chair. 


REASONS    FOR   THIS   DIFFERENCE   IN   SALT   LAKE   CITY 

After  some  investigation  the  survey  staff  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  much  of  this  efficiency  was  due  to  the  method 
of  supervising  the  schools  and  the  work  of  the  principals 
adopted  by  the  superintendent  and  the  special  supervisors. 
The  principal  in  Salt  Lake  City  has  been  made  the  center 
and  the  unit  for  all  work  of  building  supervision.  All  spe- 
cial supervisors  are  instructed  to  work  as  much  as  possible 
through  him,  and  to  respect  and  uphold  his  authority  in  the 
school.  Outlines  and  circular  letters  to  teachers  are  to  pass 
through  his  hands,  and  supervisors  are  directed  to  avoid 
encroaching  on  his  rights  and  prerogatives  as  the  responsible 
head  of  his  building.  Each  principal  has  been  made  to  feel 
that  he  has  a  job  on  his  hands  worthy  of  his  best  efforts,  and 
that  the  responsibility  for  the  success  of  his  school  rests 
with  him.  Many  of  the  principals,  in  talking  with  mem- 
bers of  the  survey  staff,  said  that  they  felt  under  constant 
pressure  from  the  superintendent  to  be  efficient  principals 
and  to  make  a  success  of  their  work,  or  else  run  the  risk 
of  being  removed  from  their  positions. 

Hence  a  prominent  characteristic  of  the  system  of  school 
administration  employed  is  its  utilization  of  the  best  each 
principal  has  in  him  in  the  administration  of  his  school. 
This  means  an  individuality  among  the  different  schools 
which  is  as  delightful  to  see  as  it  is  unusual  to  find.  Too 
many  school  superintendents  feel  that  the  way  to  run  a 
school  system  is  to  issue  orders  and  regulations,  and  by 


Administration  of  the  Educational  Department       45 

this  means  bring  all  up  to  that  uniform  standard  which 
is  handed  down  by  the  superintendent  from  above.  The 
result  is  a  uniformity  in  control  and  output  which  may  be 
pleasing  to  the  superintendent  and  board  members  who  have 
mechanical  minds,  but  it  is  the  uniformity  of  death  rather 
than  of  life.  School  principals  under  such  a  system  of  ad- 
ministration lose  their  initiative,  fail  to  develop  any  individ- 
uality in  the  administration  of  their  schools,  and  in  time 
become  keepers  of  records,  inspectors  of  work,  and  dis- 
tributors of  chalk  and  supplies.  To  see  one  school  in  such 
a  city  system  is  to  see  the  type  school ;  few  principals  under 
such  administrative  conditions  long  retain  life  enough  to 
hold  out  and  remain  different  from  the  mass. 

In  Salt  Lake  City  just  the  reverse  of  this  condition  was 
the  case.  Nearly  every  school  visited  had  something  that 
was  different,  and  most  of  the  principals  had  some  new  trick 
in  administrative  control  to  show.  Such  a  condition  can 
arise  only  under  the  stimulus  of  controlled  freedom.  Such 
controlled  freedom  means  life  to  principals,  a  new  stimulus 
to  teachers,  and  strength  and  vitality  to  the  schools. 

THE   PREMIUM    ON    INDIVIDUAL   INITIATIVE 

Though  every  school  system  ought  to  be  trying  some 
educational  experiments,  few  school  systems  do.  In  Salt 
Lake  City,  on  the  contrary,  permission  to  try  any  worthy 
experiment  is  easy  to  obtain.  Any  principal  who  has  an 
idea  which,  to  him,  seems  likely  to  result  in  an  improvement 
in  the  instruction  in  his  school,  feels  at  liberty  to  lay  it  be- 
fore the  superintendent  of  schools  and  ask  permission  to  try 
it.  This  permission  is  usually  granted,  though  the  condi- 
tions of  control  of  the  experiment  are  sometimes  laid  down. 
The  result  is  that  a  number  of  good  educational  experiments 
were  being  tried  at  the  time  of  our  visit.  On  questioning 
school  principals,  we  found  that  many  of  the  commendable 
features  of  their  schools  had  arisen  from  some  experiment 
they  had  been  permitted  to  try  in  the  past.  In  the  principals' 


46  School  Organization  and  Administration 

meetings,  held  once  each  month  by  the  superintendent,  the 
more  important  of  these  experiments  are  reported  and  their 
results  discussed.  We  also  found  in  existence  a  Principals' 
Advisory  Committee  of  five,  which  meets  from  time  to  time 
to  consider  matters  of  educational  importance,  and  which 
reports  its  findings  and  expresses  its  wishes  to  the  superin- 
tendent of  schools. 

Such  a  liberal  plan  in  school  administration  is  to  be  highly 
commended.  The  good  results  of  it  on  the  school  system 
were  evident  to  all  the  members  of  the  survey  staff.  If 
asked  to  name  the  one  thing  in  which  the  Salt  Lake  City 
system  of  school  administration  is  superior  to  most  other 
systems,  we  should  say  it  is  in  this  absence  of  a  deadening 
uniformity  imposed  from  above,  and  in  the  premium  which 
is  placed  on  initiative  from  below.  It  was  one  of  the  best 
features  the  survey  staff  found  in  the  Salt  Lake  City  school 
system. 

It  was  the  unanimous  feeling  of  the  members  of  the  sur- 
vey staff  that  the  system  of  administrative  control  of  super- 
visors and  principals  employed  by  the  superintendent,  and 
of  principals  and  teachers  by  the  other  supervisory  officers, 
was  excellent  both  in  theory  and  results.  In  brief,  the  sys- 
tem seemed  based  on  the  theory  that  the  board  placed  the 
responsibility  for  the  success  of  the  school  system  on  the 
superintendent  of  schools;  he  in  turn  placed  the  responsi- 
bility for  the  success  of  each  part  or  school  on  the  special 
supervisor  or  the  building  principal  in  control ;  these  in  turn 
placed  the  responsibility  for  the  successful  conduct  of  each 
room  upon  the  teacher  in  charge ;  and  she  in  turn  placed  the 
responsibility  for  the  success  of  that  room  upon  each  pupil 
in  it.  The  members  of  the  survey  staff  saw  many  evidences, 
extending  all  the  way  from  the  children  in  the  rooms  to  the 
special  supervisors,  of  the  wisdom  and  value  of  this  very 
liberal  method  of  supervisory  control  from  above. 


CHAPTER    IV 
THE   TEACHING    STAFF 

GROWTH    OF   THE   SCHOOL   SYSTEM 

THE  drawing  below  shows  in  graphic  form  the  growth  of 
the  Salt  Lake  City  school  system  in  the  matter  of  the 
number  of  pupils  remaining  in  average  membership  through- 
out each  school  year,  and  the  number  of  teachers  who  have 
been  employed  to  teach  these  same  pupils.  The  curves  do  not 
show  the  still  larger  number  of  pupils  enrolled,  but  who  did 


I  i  1 1  I  i 


I  I  ill  I*  H  i 


w 


700 


600 


500 


400 


100 


FIG.  7.     A  QUARTER-CENTURY  OF  GROWTH  IN  NUMBERS  OF  CHILDREN 
AND  OF  TEACHERS  EMPLOYED 

47 


48  School  Organization  and  Administration 

not  remain  in  membership  in  the  schools  throughout  the 
year. 

A  glance  at  the  drawing,  and  at  the  figures  giving  the 
number  of  pupils  in  average  membership  in  the  schools  for 
each  teacher  employed  for  the  different  years,  reveals  the 
history  of  the  efforts  of  the  school  board  to  supply  teachers 
for  the  schools.  This  average  number  of  pupils  per  teacher 
has  been  obtained  by  the  usual  method  of  dividing  the  total 
average  membership  in  the  schools  by  the  total  number  of 
regular  and  special  teachers,  principals,  and  supervisors  em- 
ployed. If  only  elementary-school  classroom  teachers  were 
used  the  numbers  would  be  much  higher. 

During  the  first  eight  years  shown  on  the  chart  but  little 
effort  was  made  to  reduce  the  number  of  pupils  per  teacher. 
By  1897-98,  many  teachers  must  have  been  trying  to  teach 
as  many  as  fifty  children.  During  the  next  eight  years, 
that  is  from  1897-98  to  1905-06,  due  to  the  combined  in- 
fluence of  a  falling  off  in  the  rate  of  increase  in  pupils  and 
a  somewhat  constant  increase  in  the  number  of  teachers 
employed  for  the  schools,  the  number  of  pupils  per  teacher 
decreased  to  about  what  it  is  at  present.  From  1905-06 
to  1911-12,  but  especially  during  the  last  two  years  of  this 
period,  the  school  board  seems  to  have  made  a  determined 
effort  to  reduce  the  size  of  classes,  finally  succeeding  in 
bringing  the  school  average  down  to  27.7.  This  still  meant 
many  classes  of  forty  to  forty-five  children  enrolled,  and 
with  an  average  daily  attendance  of  from  thirty-five  to 
forty.  During  1912-13,  however,  the  number  of  teachers 
employed  was  actually  reduced  by  twenty-two,  and  this  in 
the  face  of  an  increase  in  school  enrollment  of  713,  and  an 
increase  in  average  membership  of  730.  Since  this  time  the 
number  of  pupils  per  teacher  has  been  allowed  to  increase, 
until  it  reached  32.3  in  1914-15,  and  this  notwithstanding 
an  increase  of  33  per  cent,  in  the  number  of  high-school 
teachers  employed  during  the  past  two  years,  incident  to  the 
opening  of  the  new  East  Side  High  School.  Furthermore, 
it  is  the  announced  intention  to  increase  the  size  of  classes 


The  Teaching  Staff  49 

still  further,  during  1915-16,  by  employing  but  few  addi- 
tional teachers.  Elementary-school  classes  will  soon  be  up 
to  forty-five  children  at  this  rate. 

In  1914-15,  for  which  we  have  segregated  figures,  the 
average  membership  of  32.3  per  teacher,  based  on  the  total 
number  of  all  kinds  of  teachers  employed,  meant  an  average 
enrollment  of  40  and  an  average  membership  of  35  in  the 
elementary  schools,  and  an  average  membership  of  22.3  in 
the  high  schools.  These  figures  for  the  elementary  schools 
are  high,  28  to  30  pupils  in  average  membership  being 
nearer  what  the  elementary  schools  should  average.  With 
the  tendency  to  employ  less  experienced  and  cheaper  teach- 
ers, as  will  be  pointed  out  further  on  in  this  chapter,  this 
tendency  to  increase  classes  cannot  be  continued  without  a 
serious  impairment  of  the  quality  of  the  instruction  in  the 
schools. 

POSITION   OF   SALT   LAKE    CITY   AS   TO   TEACHERS 

To  show  the  position  of  Salt  Lake  City  in  the  matter  of 
teachers  employed,  compared  with  other  western  cities,  the 
table  on  the  following  page  has  been  compiled. 

To  compare  Salt  Lake  City  with  the  other  western  cities 
on  the  same  basis,  the  number  of  principals  and  supervisory 
officers  employed  has  first  been  deducted  in  each  case.  The 
figures  are  based  on  the  last  published  reports  of  the  United 
States  Commissioner  of  Education,  except  for  Salt  Lake 
City,  which  is  calculated  on  the  basis  of  the  figures  for 
1914-15. 

In  other  words,  this  table  shows  that  the  average  size 
of  classes  in  Salt  Lake  City  is  3.1  pupils  higher  than  the 
median  point  for  sixteen  other  western  cities.  To  bring  the 
average  size  of  class  in  Salt  Lake  City  down  merely  to  this 
median  would  require  the  employment  of  sixty-five  addi- 
tional teachers,  without  making  any  allowance  for  the  nor- 
mal increase  next  September.  In  view  of  these  figures  the 
announced  intention  to  increase  the  size  of  classes  next  year, 


School  Organization  and  Administration 


by  employing  but  few  new  teachers,  while  it  may  be  neces- 
sary with  the  present  lack  of  buildings  and  funds  for  school 
maintenance,  is  nevertheless  an  undesirable  thing  to  do  from 
any  educational  point  of  view. 

TABLE  IX 

NUMBER  OF  PUPILS  IN  AVERAGE  DAILY  ATTENDANCE  PER  TEACHER 
EMPLOYED,  IN  ALL  SCHOOLS 


City 

Teacher 
Average 

City 

Teacher 
Average 

Pasadena,  Cal  
Berkeley,  Cal  
Sacramento,  Cal.     .    .    . 
Los  Angeles,  Cal.     .    .    . 
Denver,  Colo  

19.2 
24.6 
24.9 
25.0 

2?.8 

Portland,  Ore.      .    .    . 
Colorado  Springs,  Colo. 
Spokane,  Wash.       .    . 
SALT  LAKE   CITY, 
UTAH      

28.7 
29.0 
29-5 

30.3 

Butte,  Mont  

2?.Q 

Oakland,  Cal  

-?o.7 

San  Diego,  Cal  

26.7 

San  Jose,  Cal  

3I.O 

Ogden,  Utah    

27.2 

San  Francisco,  Cal. 

33-6 

Seattle,  Wash  

27.2 

Tacoma,  Wash.       .    . 

33-8 

Average  for  the  Group   . 
Excess  of  Salt  Lake  City 
above  Average     .    .   . 

27.9 
2.4 

Median  for  the  Group. 
Excess  of  Salt  Lake  City 
above  Median  .    .    . 

27.2 
3-i 

OTHER   BAD    FEATURES    OF    THE   TEACHER   SITUATION 

Coupled  with  this  pushing  up  of  the  size  of  classes,  cer- 
tain other  very  undesirable  features  are  coming  in  to  com- 
plicate further  the  educational  problem  in  Salt  Lake  City. 

In  the  first  place,  the  number  of  ungraded  rooms  in  the 
city  is  being  reduced,  though  the  larger  the  classes  become 
and  the  less  experienced  the  teaching  force,  the  more  need 
there  is  for  ungraded  rooms  and  special  classes.  As  will  be 
pointed  out  more  in  detail  in  Chapter  IX,  the  city  at  present 
needs  at  least  fifteen  additional  teachers  for  ungraded  classes 
in  the  different  elementary  schools  of  the  city,  and  ten  addi- 
tional special  teachers  for  retarded  and  defective  children. 
These  are  minimum  needs  merely  to  care  properly  for  pres- 


The  Teaching  Staff  51 

ent  conditions.  The  high  degree  of  retardation  in  the 
schools,  as  will  also  be  pointed  out  in  Chapter  IX,  and  es- 
pecially in  a  number  of  schools  having  no  ungraded  room, 
would  indicate  the  need  for  lighter  rather  than  heavier  loads 
for  the  grade  teachers. 


FIG.  8.    DISTBIBUTION  OF  SALARIES  PAID  ELEMENTARY-SCHOOL  TEACHERS, 


Another  undesirable  feature  of  the  situation  is  the  tend- 
ency, at  present  so  manifest,  to  take  cheaper  and  less  expe- 
rienced teachers  for  the  schools.  Figure  8,  giving  the 
distribution  of  salaries  paid  elementary-school  teachers 
during  1914-15,  shows  this  very  clearly.  While  the  mini- 
mum salary  is  nominally  $600,  15.5  per  cent,  of  the  teachers 
in  the  schools  have  been  put  in,  during  the  past  two  years, 
as  probationary  teachers  at  salaries  on  which  no  other  than 
a  "  home  girl  "  could  possibly  live.  That  this  has  resulted 
in  a  marked  increase  in  the  number  of  inexperienced  local 
girls  selected  for  teaching  positions  in  the  elementary 
schools  is  clearly  shown  by  Figure  9,  on  the  following  page. 


School  Organization  and  Administration 


UTAH  STATE  NORMAL 
56% 


HIGH  SCHOOL  TfACHCRS 


FIG.  9.    WHERE  THE  TEACHERS  OF'  SALT  LAKE  CITY  HAVE 
RECEIVED  THEIR  EDUCATION 


The  Teaching  Staff 


53 


Two-thirds  of  the  elementary- 
school  teachers  in  this  city  are 
seen  to  be  "  home  girls." 

With  the  isolation  under  which 
Salt  Lake  City  to  a  certain  extent 
suffers,  this  is  entirely  too  high  a 
percentage  of  home  talent  to  have 
employed.  It  represents  an  in- 
breeding process  which  is  almost 
certain  to  weaken  the  work  of  the 
schools.  Salt  Lake  City  would 
have  a  very  much  better  teaching 
force  in  its  elementary  schools 
if  it  drew  more  extensively 
on  teachers  who  have  received 
their  training  and  experience  in 
other  cities  and  states.  The  em- 
ployment of  teachers  from  the 
outside  has  been  the  great  strength 
of  the  school  systems  of  such 
cities  as  Seattle,  Portland,  Oak- 
land, Pasadena,  Los  Angeles,  and 
San  Diego.  For  Salt  Lake  City  to 
follow  the  example  of  these  cities, 
though,  would  involve  raising 
the  minimum  salaries  for  teachers 
up  to  about  what  the  median  now 
is.  The  salaries  paid  high-school 
teachers  are  better,  as  may  be 
seen  from  Figure  10,  which  doubt- 
less accounts  for  the  greater  per- 
centage of  outside  teachers  shown 
in  the  lower  part  of  Figure  9. 

As  the  salary  schedule  in  Salt 
Lake  City  is  graded  largely  on  the 
basis  of  the  number  of  years  of 
teaching  service,  the  great  mass- 
ing of  salaries  toward  the  lower 


Salary 

81750 
1700 
1650 
IGOO 
1550 
1500 
1450 
1400 
1350 
1300 
IZ80 
1250 
IZ30 


JT 


FIG.  10.  HIGH-SCHOOL  SALARIES 


54 


School  Organization  and  Administration 


end  of  the  scale  indicates  the  employment  of  young  and  inex- 
perienced teachers.  Figure  8  shows  that  41.6  per  cent,  of  the 
elementary-school  teachers  this  past  year  have  been  paid  $750 
or  less.  Salt  Lake  City  is  employing  for  its  schools  too  many 
girls  of  little  teaching  experience.  This  is  further  brought 
out  by  Figure  1  1,  which  shows  that  50  per  cent,  of  the  teach- 
ers in  the  city  have  been  in  the  schools  five  years  or  less. 


1S90 
1S9I 

im 

If  93 

1*94 

1*9.5 

1796 

1*97 

159* 

1*99 

1900 

1901 

1902 

1903 

1904 

1905 

1906 

1907 


FIG.  ii.   TENURE  OF  TEACHERS  IN  SALT  LAKE  CITY,  AS  SHOWN  BY  YEAR  OF 
FIRST  APPOINTMENT  TO  THE  TEACHING  FORCE 

THE   SALARY    SCHEDULES 

That  teachers'  salaries  in  Salt  Lake  City  are  low  there  can 
be  no  question.  Salt  Lake  City  is  not  a  cheap  city  in  which 
to  live,  and  a  public  school  teacher  should  be  paid  a  salary 


The  Teaching  Staff 


55 


sufficient  to  enable  her  to  live  as  a  person  of  education  and 
refinement  should.  This  demands  a  salary  large  enough  to 
enable  the  teacher  to  secure  a  good  quiet  room  in  a  house 
where  she  has  regular  use  of  a  bath,  good  food,  reasonably 
good  clothing,  some  money  for  books  and  better-class 
amusements,  something  left  for  summer  schools  and  a  sum- 
mer vacation,  and  a  little  margin  for  the  unexpected.  Con- 
sidering the  training  required  and  the  cost  of  living,  $800 
a  year  is  low  enough  for  a  minimum  in  a  western  city,  and 
$1,200  a  year  is  low  enough  for  a  maximum  for  teachers 
in  elementary  schools.  For  high  schools,  a  beginning  salary 
of  $900  and  a  maximum  of  $1,500,  with  $1,800  to  $2,000 
for  heads  of  departments,  are  salaries  which  are  not  too 
high  when  it  is  remembered  that  graduation  from  a  uni- 
versity is  required  to  enter  the  work. 

TABLE  X 

COMPARATIVE  SALARY  SCHEDULES  IN  WESTERN  CITIES 


City 

Teachers 

Principals 

Minimum 
Salary 

Maximum 
Salary 

Minimum 
Salary 

Maximum 
Salary 

I.  Elementary  Schools 
1.  SALT    LAKE     CITY, 
UTAH          

$480 
600 
600 
600 
720 
725 
75° 
768 
768 
780 
800 
840 
840 
840 
900 
960 

$1020 
960 
960 

1000 
1200 
IIOO 
1200 
I2OO 
1200 
1200 
IIOO 
IO24 
IO5O 
1  1  10 
I20O 
I2OO 

$1350 
1140 
1150 
1050 
1400 
1050 
1  200 
1  200 
1300 
1500 
1  200 
2340 
1800 
1440 
1560 
1500 

$2350 
1800 
1800 
1800 

2OOO 
2150 
1700 
2OO4 
24OO 
24OO 
2100 
2460 
1920 
2l6o 
1560 
228O 

'  2,  Tacoma,  Wash  
3.  Colorado  Springs,  Colo. 
4.  Spokane,  Wash  

5.  Denver,  Colo  

6.  Portland,  Ore  

7.  Butte,  Mont  

8.  San  Diego,  Cal  

9.  Los  Angeles,  Cal.     .   .   . 
10   Oakland,  Cal  

ii.  Pasadena,  Cal  

12.  San  Francisco,  Cal.      .    . 
13.  San  Jos6,  Cal  

14.  Seattle,  Wash  

15.  Sacramento,  Cal.      .    .    . 
16    Berkeley,  Cal  

School  Organization  and  Administration 


TABLE  X— 'Continued 
COMPARATIVE  SALARY  SCHEDULES  IN  WESTERN  CITIES 


City 

Teachers 

Heads  of 
Depart- 
ments 
Maximum 

Principals 

Minimum 
Salary 

Maximum 
Salary 

II.  High  Schools 
1.  SALT     LAKE     CITY, 
UTAH       

$800 
810 
900 

IOOO 
IO2O 
IIOO 
IIOO 

1150 

I2OO 
I2OO 
I2OO 
I2OO 
I2OO 
1250 
1260 
ISOO 

$1400 

135° 
1600 
1600 
1560 
1400 
1500 

i3So 
1500 
1600 
1680 
1680 
1500 
1600 
1500 
1730 

$1600 

1600 
1600 

2  2OO 
1680 
I800 
I7OO 
I6OO 
I800 
I800 
2l6o 
1680 
2200 
I800 
2IOO 
2O4O 

$3800 
2500 
1800 

3600 
3300 
3300 
3000 
3000 
3000 
3600 
2300 
3600 
3000 
33°o 
3600 

2.  Tacoma,  Wash  
3.  Colorado  Springs,  Colo.   . 
4.  Denver,  Colo  

5.  Seattle,  Wash  

6.  Spokane,  Wash  

7.  Pasadena,  Cal  

8.  Portland,  Ore  

9.  Berkeley,  Cal  

10.  San  Diego,  Cal  

ii.  Los  Angeles,  Cal.     .    .    . 
12.  Sacramento,  Cal.      .    .    . 
13.  San  Jose,  Cal  

14.  Butte,  Mont  

15.  Oakland,  Cal  

16.  San  Francisco,  Cal.  .    .    . 

That  such  salaries  are  comparable  to  those  paid  in  other 
western  cities  where  living  costs  are  somewhat  similar,  and 
where  good  school  systems  are  maintained,  may  be  seen 
from  the  preceding  table,  comparing  teachers'  salaries  in 
Salt  Lake  City  with  salaries  paid  in  the  sixteen  other  west- 
ern cities  used  in  other  tables  in  this  report. 

In  both  elementary-  and  secondary-school  salaries,  as 
shown  by  Table  X,  Salt  Lake  City  pays  the  lowest  mini- 
mum and  also  nearly  the  lowest  maximum  of  any  west- 
ern city.  Only  in  the  salaries  paid  principals  should  Salt 
Lake  City  be  commended. 

COMPARATIVE   SALARIES   PAID 

That  the  salaries  paid  teachers  in  Salt  Lake  City  are  also 
lower  than  are  paid  other  types  of  city  employees,  and  em- 


The  Teaching  Staff  57 

ployees  in  other  local  lines  of  business,  may  be  seen  from 
the  following  table  giving  wage  scales  common  in  Salt  Lake 
City.  For  purposes  of  proper  comparison  all  have  been  re- 
duced to  a  twelve-month  basis : 

TABLE  XI 

WAGE  SCALE  FOR  DIFFERENT  TYPES  OF  EMPLOYEES  IN  SALT  LAKE  CITY 
Public  School  Employees 

In  elementary  schools      $40.00  to  $85.00  per  'month 

In  high  schools      41.66  to  116.66  per  month 

Department  heads  in  high  schools 100.00  to  133.33  Per  month 

School  janitors       

City  Employees 

Policemen       $80.00  to  $112.50  per  month 

Firemen      80.00  to    100.00  per  month 

Street  sweepers      50.00  per  month 

Clerks  in  city  offices 75.00  to    100.00  per  month 

Stenographers  in  same 60.00  to      75.00  per  month 

Bank  Employees 

Head  bookkeepers $90.00  to  $125.00  per  month 

Assistant  bookkeepers      75-oo  to    100.00  per  month 

Collectors       30.00  to      75.00  per  month 

Tellers 100.00  to    150.00  per  month 

Railroad  Employees 

Bookkeepers       $90.00  to  $110.00  per  month 

Traveling  men       100.00  to    150.00  per  month 

Stenographers  and  secretaries 50.00  to    100.00  per  month 

Telegraph  operators 85.00  to    100.00  per  month 

Store  Employees 

Bookkeepers       $75.00  to  $110.00  per  month 

Clerks,  male       60.00  to    100.00  per  month 

Clerks,  female 40.00  to     60.00  per  month 

CONCLUSIONS   AS   TO   TEACHERS 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  tables  and  charts  given  in  this 
chapter  that  the  number  of  teachers  now  employed  is  too 
small,  and  that  the  tendency  in  employment  is  in  the  wrong 
direction ;  that  the  schools  are  securing  too  many  inex- 
perienced teachers,  from  the  immediate  neighborhoods,  and 


58  School  Organization  and  Administration 

with  purely  local  outlook  and  training;  that  the  tendency 
in  salaries  is  downward,  below  what  is  a  living  wage  for 
any  person  of  education  and  refinement,  and  below  a  re- 
muneration which  will  make  teaching  attractive  to  the  better 
class  of  young  people ;  and  that  the  salaries  paid  are  lower 
than  in  other  western  cities,  or  in  other  types  of  city  serv- 
ice. What  ought  to  appeal  to  the  best  minds  as  the  highest 
and  most  attractive  service  is  rendered  just  the  opposite, 
from  a  monetary  point  of  view. 

To  supply  the  present  needs  of  the  schools  for  regular 
class  teachers  and  for  special  teachers,  as  will  be  pointed  out 
further  on  in  this  report,  would  require  the  addition  of  ap- 
proximately 100  more  teachers  to  the  elementary  school 
service.  To  pay  a  salary  schedule  such  as  well-trained 
teachers  demand  would  require,  including  the  new  teachers 
to  be  employed  to  meet  present  needs,  an  addition  of  prob- 
ably 40  per  cent,  to  the  present  allowance  for  teachers'  sal- 
aries. This  is  doubtless  impossible  under  the  present  tax 
limits,  but  it  is  no  less  a  necessity  if  the  schools  are  to  be 
put  in  condition  to  render  the  full  service  that  they  should. 
A  continuation  of  present  tendencies  cannot  fail  to  interfere 
seriously  with  the  efficiency  of  the  instruction  in  the  schools. 

In  presenting  these  criticisms  of  the  present  policy  as  to 
teachers,  necessitated  by  the  present  financial  situation,  the 
survey  staff  do  not  wish  to  leave  the  impression  that  they 
feel  that  the  teaching  force  is  not  rendering  good  service. 
On  the  contrary,  all  felt  that  the  city  was  getting  more  for 
its  money  than  it  had  a  right  to  expect.  In  every  school  we 
found  a  few  excellent  teachers,  a  number  of  good  average 
teachers,  and  one  or  two  teachers  who  seemed  to  lack  ex- 
perience and  grasp.  The  last  is  not  at  all  surprising,  con- 
sidering the  type  of  young  people  being  taken  for  the  work. 
That  the  teachers  were  rendering  as  good  service  as  they 
were,  considering  the  inexperience  and  lack  of  contact  with 
life  elsewhere  of  many  of  the  newer  ones,  was  in  large 
measure  due  to  the  good  supervision  given  their  work  by 
the  principals  and  the  special  supervisors. 


CHAPTER  V, 
SCHOOL  CENSUS  AND  SCHOOL  ATTENDANCE 

THE   INCREASE   IN   BOTH 

THE  drawing  which  appears  on  this  page  shows  the 
increases   in   school   census,    school   enrollment,   and 
average  membership  in  the  schools  of  Salt  Lake  City  for  the 
past  quarter  of  a  century.    In  a  general  way  the  three  follow 


5.000 


FIG.  12.     INCREASE  IN  SCHOOL  CENSUS,  ENROLLMENT,  AND  AVERAGE 
MEMBERSHIP 

somewhat  parallel  lines,  though  the  increase  in  enrollment 
and  average  membership  during  the  past  fifteen  years  has 
not  quite  kept  up  with  the  increase  in  the  school  census. 
The  increase  in  school  census  as  reported  by  the  enumera- 

59 


60  School  Organization  and  Administration 

tors  has  also  been  less  regular  than  has  the  increase  in  en- 
rollment and  average  membership,  as  shown  by  the  more 
jagged  line.  A  natural  question  raised  by  such  a  curve  is 
as  to  whether  the  different  enumerations  have  been  carefully 
made.  It  is  hard  to  explain  the  decreases  in  1906,  and 
again  in  1912,  on  any  other  basis  than  a  failure  to  enumer- 
ate all  the  existing  children.  As  all  apportionments  of 
state  school  money  are  based  on  the  school  census  returns 
(children  over  6  and  under  18  years  of  age  reported  as 
living  within  the  city)  and  as  the  amount  apportioned  is  a 
considerable  sum  ($13.00  per  child  in  1913-14),  it  doubtless 
would  pay  the  board  of  education  to  revise  the  methods  in 
use  for  taking  the  annual  school  census. 

A   SCHOOL    CENSUS   BUREAU 

A  school  census  bureau  should  be  created,  in  connection 
with  the  department  of  compulsory  school  attendance,  and 
it  should  compile  accurate  records  of  the  children  living  in 
every  block  or  school  district  in  the  city.  Such  records 
might  be  collected  by  the  school  principals,  by  the  depart- 
ment of  compulsory  attendance,  or  by  some  other  means. 
Each  pupil-record  should  show  the  following  information: 

1.  Name  of  child  (surname  first). 

2.  Sex  of  child. 

3.  Month,  day,  and  year  of  birth,  from  which  the  num- 
ber of  years  old,  at  last  birthday,  is  also  to  be  set  down.    The 
authority  upon  which  the  age  is  taken  (word  of  parents; 
birth  certificate ;  baptismal  certificate ;  passport ;  etc. )  shall 
also  be  set  down. 

4.  Country  of  birth. 

5.  Name  of  parent   (father  or  mother),  guardian,  or 
other  person  standing  in  parental  relation. 

6.  Abode,  including  school-attendance  district,  post-office 
address,  and  street  and  number. 

7.  Physical  condition  (good;  deaf;  dumb;  blind;  crip- 
pled). 


School  Census  and  School  Attendance  61 

8.  Mental  condition  (good;  otherwise). 

9.  School  attending  (public;   private;  parochial). 

10.  Position  in  school  (grade). 

11.  Reason,  if  not  attending  school. 

12.  If  employed,  where  and  how. 

13.  Vaccination  certificate  record. 

A  duplicate  card  system  should  be  employed,  one  card  to 
be  retained  in  the  office  of  the  department  of  compulsory 
school  attendance,  and  one  at  the  school  the  child  attends. 
This  form  of  school  census  should  be  always  in  the  making, 
so  as  to  keep  it  accurate  and  reliable.  School  teachers  and 
principals  should  report  all  changes  and  additions,  and  the 
school  principals  could  be  employed  on  Saturdays  or  in 
vacation  to  check  up  and  keep  accurate  the  information  for 
their  school  districts. 

All  such  data  should  be  sorted  and  tabulated  by  schools, 
or  attendance  districts,  and  the  attendance  of  each  child  at 
public,  private,  or  parochial  school,  or  non-attendance  at  any 
school,  should  be  indicated  on  the  records.  The  annual 
state  school  census,  required  by  the  laws  of  the  state,  could 
be  taken  each  July  from  the  card  records  on  file  in  the  office 
of  the  attendance  department.  By  using  some  care  to  main- 
tain such  records  in  accurate  form,  the  whereabouts  of  every 
child  of  school  age  could  at  all  times  be  known.  Such  a 
form  of  continuing  school  census  has  been  established  by 
a  few  of  our  cities,  and  is  the  only  form  that  possesses  much 
real  value  as  a  record,  or  for  the  enforcement  of  the  com- 
pulsory-attendance, child-labor,  or  working-permit  laws. 

Such  a  plan  calls  for  the  appointment  of  a  man  or  a 
woman  who  will  give  full  time  to  keeping  the  records  ac- 
curate, and  some  extra  clerical  assistance  at  certain  times 
of  the  year.  The  school  principals  could  be  used  for  much 
of  the  work,  as  they  constitute  the  most  intelligent  body  of 
assistants  obtainable.  Such  a  census  bureau  would  of  course 
cost  something  to  maintain,  —  perhaps  $5,000  a  year,  - 
but  it  probably  would  more  than  save  its  cost  in  increased 


62  School  Organization  and  Administration 

earnings  from  the  state  grants,  in  addition  to  affording  a 
much  better  basis  for  the  enforcement  of  the  state  laws  re- 
lating to  the  education  and  protection  of  children. 


VALUE  OF  SUCH   RECORDS  IN  LOCATING  SCHOOL  BUILDINGS 

A  tabulation  of  such  records,  from  year  to  year  by  blocks 
and  by  districts,  would  also  be  of  much  value  to  the  officers 
of  the  school  department  in  determining  the  growth,  the 
rate  of  growth,  and  the  changes  in  character  of  the  school 
population  in  the  different  districts  of  the  city.  From  such 
data  the  needs  of  the  school  department  in  buildings,  rooms, 
equipment,  and  teachers  could  not  only  be  somewhat  accu- 
rately determined,  but  determined  sufficiently  long  enough 
in  advance  to  enable  the  school  department  to  provide  proper 
school  facilities.  It  is  from  some  such  form  of  record  that 
a  telephone  company  knows  where  to  locate  a  branch  ex- 
change, and  when  to  replace  its  lines  with  others  capable  of 
caring  for  increased  business.  With  such  records  available, 
such  errors  of  personal  judgment  as  the  board  of  education 
made  last  year  in  deciding  to  locate  a  new  building  on  the 
already  overcrowded  Hamilton  School  site,  and  later,  after 
the  type  of  building  had  been  decided  upon  and  plans  had 
been  drawn,  reversing  itself  and  locating  the  building  as  orig- 
inally recommended  by  the  superintendent  of  schools,  could 
easily  be  avoided.  From  reading  the  minutes  of  board  meet- 
ings for  July,  August,  and  September  of  last  year,  one  would 
be  led  to  infer  that  this  needless  mistake  cost  the  board  a 
large  amount  of  time,  and  caused  much  bitter  feeling. 
Under  a  good  record  system,  such  a  case  could  easily  have 
been  avoided. 

ENFORCEMENT  OF  COMPULSORY  ATTENDANCE 

The  school  law  of  the  State  of  Utah  requires  the  attend- 
ance at  some  school  of  practically  every  child  in  Salt  Lake 
City,  between  the  ages  of  8  and  16,  for  at  least  30  weeks 


School  Census  and  School  Attendance 


each  year.  The  reports  of  the  school  truant  officer,  as  printed 
in  the  annual  reports  of  the  board  of  education,  would  indi- 
cate that  the  attendance  of  children  is  looked  after  as  well 


-2000  /*//>;/«  • 


-1500 


—1000 


»       7       t  '9        10      II       lit      13      /4      19      16      ft     It      19      20  YKi, 

FIG.  13.    DISTRIBUTION  OF  PUBLIC-SCHOOL  PUPILS  IN  SALT  LAKE  CITY,  BY 

AGES 

as  one  man  can  do  such  work  in  a  city  of  110,000  inhabit- 
ants, and  covering  fifty  square  miles  of  territory. 

Figure  13,  showing  the  ages  of  all  children  belonging  to 
the  schools  in  May,  1915,  shows  that  attendance  holds  up 


64  School  Organization  and  Administration 

fairly  well  to  the  end  of  the  I5th  year.  Figure  14,  how- 
ever, shows  that  attendance  drops  very  rapidly  in  Salt 
Lake  City  after  the  completion  of  the  6th  school  grade,  and 
this  fact,  together  with  the  large  number  of  over-age  chil- 
dren in  the  grades,  as1  shown  by  Figure  28,  makes  it  almost 
certain  that  a  large  number  of  the  older  children,  held  in 
school  by  the  enforcement  of  the  compulsory  education  laws, 
are  pupils  who  are  "  mired  down  "  in  the  grades  and  are 
hopelessly  repeating  work  which  is  not  at  all  suited  to  their 
needs.  This  must  be  particularly  the  case  with  many  of  the 
boys.  It  is  almost  certain  that  a  vocational  school  for  such 
children  would  be  of  great  benefit  not  only  to  them,  but  to 
the  grades  from  which  they  would  be  withdrawn  as  well. 
No  school  system  consisting  of  grade  instruction  alone  can 
ever  meet  the  educational  needs  of  those  markedly  over-age 
boys  and  girls  who  find  themselves  unable  to  make  satisfac- 
tory progress  in  the  work  of  the  ordinary  school  course  of 
study.  The  needs  of  such  children  are  considered  more  at 
length  in  Chapter  IX. 

WHERE    THE   SCHOOLS    ARE   INCREASING 

Figure  14  shows  the  increase  in  pupils  enrolled  in  the 
schools  at  the  close  of  each  ten-year  period  for  the  past  three 
decades,  and  their  distribution  throughout  the  school  system 
by  grades.  This  is  an  interesting  chart.  In  1894,  the  great 
dropping  out  of  children  took  place  after  the  completion 
of  the  4th  school  grade,  the  number  remaining  to  the  close 
of  the  8th  or  going  on  through  the  high  school  being  quite 
small.  During  the  ten-year  period  up  to  1914,  the  schools 
actually  increased  more  in  the  four  upper  grades  than  in 
the  four  lower,  a  rather  anomalous  situation.  During  the 
last  ten-year  period,  the  great  gain  has  been  in  the  first  six 
grades. 

The  marked  falling  off  in  attendance  is  now  seen  to  take 
place  at  the  close  of  both  the  4th  and  the  6th  school  grades, 
with  another  heavy  mortality  at  the  end  of  the  first  year  of 


School  Census  and  School  Attendance 


the  high  school.  The  loss  at  the  end  of  the  Qth  grade  is 
almost  as  large  as  the  loss  at  the  end  of  the  8th.  These 
curves  naturally  raise  a  question  as  to  whether  the  courses 
of  study  and  the  types  of  education  provided  for  the  chil- 


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Pupils 

Pupils 

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FIG.  14 

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dren  below  16  years  of  age  is  the  best  the  community  can 
provide.  This  question  will  be  considered  more  in  detail  in 
the  succeeding  chapters  of  this  report. 

PUPILS    COMPLETING   THE    HIGH-SCHOOL    COURSE 

The  small  number  of  pupils  finishing  a  high-school  course, 
or  even  continuing  into  the  second  year  of  the  high  schools, 


66 


School  Organization  and  Administration 


is  a  noticeable  feature  of  the  distribution  shown  in  Figure 
14.  In  a  community  such  as  Salt  Lake  City,  a  community 
of  good  racial  stocks,  low  illiteracy,  good  educational  tra- 


CITIES 

BERKELEY.CAL. 
2.NEWTON.MASS. 
3.5ANJOSE.CAL 
4.PASADENA.CAL 
5:WALTHAIft.WA3S. 
6.  SAN  DIEGO,  CAL. 
7SEATTLE.WASH. 
XSPOKANE.WASH. 
9.a(Y\BRIDGE,MA$5 
10.DESMOINESJA. 
J1.SACRAN\ENTO,CAL 
12.LOS  ANGELES,  CAL. 
13.0/y\AHA,NEBR. 
14.  DENVER,  COLO. 
I5.TACO/V\A,WASH. 
IG-SPRINGFUUMASS. 
17  PORTLAND,  ORE, 
1XOAKLAND.CAL 
19.DULUTH,N\IIiN. 
20BUTTE,/V\ONT. 
21.0GDEN.UTAH. 
22.YONKERS,N.^Y. 
23-SALTLAKECITY 


ZO         25% 


25.SAN  FRANCISCO 


FIG.  15.    THE  PERCENTAGE  WHICH  THE  ATTENDANCE  AT  THE  HIGH  SCHOOLS 
REPRESENTS  OF  THE  ATTENDANCE  AT  ALL  SCHOOLS 

ditions,  a  state  university  at  its  doors,  and  much  wealth, 
this  is  a  rather  surprising  condition  to  find.  One  would  ex- 
pect, in  such  a  city,  to  find  a  large  rather  than  a  small  per- 


School  Census  and  School  Attendance  67 

centage  of  pupils  in  attendance  at  the  high  schools.  But, 
notwithstanding  the  rather  marked  increase  in  high-school 
enrollment  during  the  last  decade,  the  percentage  in  the 
high-school  grades  is  still  quite  low.  This  condition  natu- 
rally raises  questions  as  to  the  adaptability  to  community 
needs  of  the  instruction  now  offered  in  the  Salt  Lake  City 
high  schools.  This  question  we  shall  consider  at  length  in 
the  second  part  of  this  report. 

To  compare  Salt  Lake  City  in  this  respect  with  other 
cities,  Figure  1 5  has  been  prepared.  This  shows,  in  a  series 
of  percentages,  the  relation  which  the  number  of  pupils  in 
attendance  at  the  high  schools  in  the  different  cities  bears 
to  the  total  number  of  pupils  attending  all  schools  in  the 
city.  Salt  Lake  City  is  here  compared  with  twenty-four 
other  American  cities,  including  the  sixteen  western  cities 
previously  used.  The  data  used  for  all  cities  were  taken 
from  the  published  reports  of  the  United  States  Commis- 
sioner of  Education,  and  covered  the  school  year  1912-13, 
which  at  the  time  was  the  last  year  for  which  reports  were 
available.  Salt  Lake  City  was  calculated  for  the  year  1914- 
15,  and  from  figures  furnished  by  the  superintendent  as  to 
that  year's  attendance. 

This  chart  tends  to  confirm  the  impression,  raised  by  a 
study  of  the  curves  of  Figure  14,  that  the  courses  of  study 
offered  in  the  Salt  Lake  City  high  schools  are  not  as  well 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  children  of  the  city  as  they 
should  be.  The  last  two  years  of  the  elementary-school 
course  also  probably  lack  in  power  to  interest  the  pupils  in 
carrying  their  studies  further.  These  questions  will  be  con- 
sidered further  in  the  second  part  of  this  report,  where  cer- 
tain reorganizations,  calculated  to  improve  the  upper-grade 
work  and  make  the  entrance  to  high  school  more  attractive, 
are  presented. 


PART   II 

The  Work  of  the  Schools 


CHAPTER   VI 
THE   PRINTED   COURSES   OF   STUDY1 

ORDER   OF   PROCEDURE 

TURNING  now  to  the  work  of  the  schools  themselves,  we 
shall  attempt  to  evaluate,  with  some  care,  the  work 
which  they  attempt  and  carry  out.  First  we  shall  examine 
the  printed  courses  of  study  and  outlines  for  work  that  are 
issued  for  the  guidance  of  teachers  in  the  schools,  to  see  in 
how  far  these  meet  the  best  standards  as  to  what  should 
constitute  school  instruction.  This  will  be  done  in  the  pres- 
ent chapter,  taking  first  the  kindergarten,  and  then  the  dif- 
ferent subjects  taught  in  the  elementary  school,  and  in  the 
order  in  which  they  are  presented  in  the  printed  courses  of 
study.  In  the  chapter  which  follows  we  shall  attempt  to 
evaluate  the  instruction  and  supervision  as  seen  by  the  dif- 
ferent members  of  the  survey  staff,  and  shall  make  recom- 
mendations for  certain  desirable  extensions  of  the  school 
work. 

OPINIONS   AND   TESTS 

Both  of  these  chapters  will,  of  necessity,  be  based  largely 
on  the  personal  opinion  of  the  members  of  the  survey  staff, 
based  in  turn,  we  hope,  on  a  knowledge  of  what  constitutes 
good  theory  and  current  practice  in  the  best  of  our  Ameri- 
can schools.  Following  these  two  chapters,  and  in  a  way 
supporting  their  conclusions,  will  come  two  other  chapters, 
which  are  in  no  way  based  on  personal  opinion,  but  instead 
on  careful  measurements  as  to  the  results  of  the  instruction 

1  Chapters  VI  and  VII  were  written  by  Dr.  James  H.  Van  Sickle,  Superin- 
tendent of  City  Schools,  Springfield,  Massachusetts.  —  PUBLISHERS. 


72  School  Organization  and  Administration 

and  administration  of  the  schools,  using  standard  tests  and 
carefully  collected  statistical  data. 

This  second  part  of  the  report  must,  by  its  very  nature, 
be  somewhat  scientific  and  technical,  as  any  other  than  a 
scientific  and  technical  treatment  of  the  problem  would  be 
of  but  little  value,  but  to  those  charged  with  the  adminis- 
tration and  instruction  of  the  schools  the  results  here  of- 
fered should  prove  of  very  great  use.  We  also  venture  to 
hope  that  this  second  part  has  been  put  in  such  form,  and 
the  results  so  illustrated  by  diagrams,  that  the  layman  as 
well  may  be  able  to  understand  it  and  from  it  derive  an 
accurate  and  intelligent  idea  as  to  the  actual  work  which 
the  schools  of  his  city  are  doing. 

I.    THE  KINDERGARTENS 

THE   KINDERGARTEN    THEORY 

As  outlined  by  the  supervisor  of  primary  schools  and 
kindergartens  this  seems  to  be  of  the  liberal  type,  but  the 
equipment  for  carrying  out  this  theory  is  inadequate,  in  that 
it  consists  of  the  old-time  small  gift-blocks  and  occupation 
materials.  A  theory  in  line  with  the  best  modern  thought 
cannot  be  consistently  worked  out  by  means  of  an  equipment 
designed  for  an  extremely  conservative  and  now  almost 
abandoned  practice. 

A  valuable  feature  of  the  printed  directions  to  kinder- 
garten teachers  consists  of  suggestive  exercises  for  the 
training  of  the  senses  of  touch,  sight,  and  hearing,  similar 
to  those  cited  by  Halleck  in  his  Education  of  the  Central 
Nervous  System.  To  quote  from  the  outline  in  this 
connection : 

"The  development  of  the  senses  always  precedes  intellectual  activity,  but 
we  often  demand  the  activity  before  we  have  given  any  training  to  the  senses, 
or  at  least  any  regulated,  purposeful  training. 

"Because  the  period  of  life  between  the  age  of  three  and  the  age  of  eight 
is  one  of  rapid  sense  development,  and  because  during  this  period  the  child 


The  Courses  of  Study  73 

responds  readily  to  the  sense  stimuli  of  his  environment  and  but  little  to  reason, 
the  kindergarten  should  make  sense  training  one  of  its  chief  lines  of  work. 

"Sense- training  exercises  are  exceedingly  valuable  not  only  because  they 
result  in  trained  servants,  but  because  they  demand  more  or  less  concentration 
and  therefore  beget  the  habit  and  increase  the  power." 

Considering  some  of  the  other  aims  of  the  kindergarten 
work,  the  outline  continues  as  follows : 

"We  must  remember  that  a  kindergarten  is  not  an  entity,  it  is  a  link  in  a 
chain,  and  as  such  we  should  see  to  it  that  it  will  fit  into  the  next  link.  Teachers 
of  the  first  grade  have  a  right  to  expect  children  who  have  had  a  kindergarten 
training  to  come  to  them  with  greater  sensory  power,  with  some  ability  to  re- 
ceive and  follow  directions,  some  manual  power,  some  idea  of  self-control  in  the 
interest  of  the  social  group,  a  desire  to  achieve  an  independent  solution  of  their 
little  problems,  and  possessed  of  an  alertness  of  sense  perception  not  looked  for 
in  children  who  have  not  had  such  training." 


MORE   KINDERGARTENS   NEEDED 

The  more  prosperous  portions  of  the  city  are  well  supplied 
with  kindergartens.  It  would  appear  that  in  locating  kinder- 
gartens there  has  been  no  comprehensive  study  of  the  needs 
of  the  various  sections.  Some  of  those  in  greatest  need  of 
them  have  none  at  all.  Where  there  is  great  need  there  is 
naturally  little  realization  of  the  need,  and  therefore  no 
demand  has  made  itself  felt.  This  does  not  relieve  the 
school  department  of  the  duty  to  look  out  for  portions  of 
the  city  in  which  the  people  do  not  know  how  to  look  out 
for  their  own  interests.  A  kindergarten  is  greatly  needed 
in  each  of  the  following  schools:  Bonneville,  Irving, 
Onequa,  Poplar  Grove,  Washington,  and  Webster. 

II.    THE  COURSES  OF  STUDY  FOR  THE  ELEMENTARY 
SCHOOLS 

It  may  be  said  at  the  outset  that  with  two  principal  ex- 
ceptions to  be  discussed  later,  manual  training  and  physical 
training,  the  courses  of  study  as  outlined  for  the  Salt  Lake 
City  schools  are  worthy  of  commendation.  Unlike  many 


74  School  Organization  and  Administration 

similar  publications,  the  volume  does  not  appear  to  be  a  mere 
compilation.  A  definite  theory  of  education  underlies  the 
development  of  each  subject,  and  unusual  attention  has  been 
paid  to  the  relation  which  one  subject  bears  to  another.  By 
means  of  the  close  correlation  thus  worked  out  great  econ- 
omy of  time  is  possible,  both  in  teaching  and  in  learning. 

HOW    THE   COURSES   OF   STUDY   WERE   MADE 

It  is  noteworthy  that  in  preparing  the  present  courses  of 
study  the  superintendent  and  the  supervisors  were  aided  by 
the  advice  of  a  committee  of  five  teachers  from  each  grade, 
and  a  similar  committee  of  principals.  The  writing  of  the 
courses  could  without  doubt  have  been  more  quickly  done 
in  the  superintendent's  office,  without  time-consuming  con- 
sultations with  members  of  the  teaching  force.  Thus  pre- 
pared, they  might  have  been  quite  as  good,  or  even  better, 
and  yet  have  failed  to  serve  as  useful  a  purpose.  They  would 
have  seemed  to  be  imposed  by  authority,  rather  than  adopted 
as  a  result  of  cooperative  effort,  whereas  courses  formulated 
in  part  by  the  teaching  force,  as  in  this  instance,  will  be 
understood  by  all,  and  all,  having  had  a  certain  responsibil- 
ity in  their  preparation  and  adoption,  will  be  in  sympathy 
with  their  aims  and  standards. 

The  making  of  courses  of  study  is  best  managed  when 
the  preparation  is  utilized  as  an  opportunity,  as  has  been 
done  in  this  case,  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  teaching 
force  by  securing  the  thoughtful  participation  of  teachers 
in  the  work  and  responsibility  involved.  For  these  reasons 
the  plan  under  which  the  Salt  Lake  City  courses  of  study 
were  formulated  is  to  be  commended.  The  committees  to 
which  reference  has  been  made  were  appointed  by  the  super- 
intendent. Similar  committees  elected  by  the  teachers  them- 
selves are  now  deliberating,  not  only  on  further  desirable 
revisions  of  the  courses,  but  also,  at  the  invitation  of  the 
superintendent,  upon  any  other  feature  of  school  procedure 
about  which  they  care  to  make  recommendations. 


The  Courses  of  Study  75 

Wherever  such  cooperative  relations  exist  between  the 
supervising  officers  and  the  teaching  force  in  a  school  sys- 
tem, one  may  reasonably  expect  the  favorable  results  that 
always  come  from  team  work.  In  their  visits  to  the  schools 
the  members  of  the  survey  staff  have  been  at  some  pains  to 
find  out  whether  there  is  in  fact  in  the  Salt  Lake  City  schools 
the  mutual  confidence  and  cooperation  between  teachers  and 
supervisory  officers  which  their  plan  would  lead  one  to  ex- 
pect. It  is  our  opinion  that  such  a  relation  has  been  devel- 
oped to  a  good  degree,  and  that  its  effects  are  evident  in  the 
daily  procedure  in  most  of  the  schoolrooms  visited. 


WHAT   THE   COURSES   PRESCRIBE 

The  courses  of  study  prescribe  minimum  attainments 
which  children  must  possess  as  a  condition  of  promotion. 
Beyond  this  minimum  great  freedom  is  allowed.  In  devel- 
oping any  course  of  study  for  any  grade  beyond  the,  mini- 
mum which  is  deemed  attainable  by  the  slowest  pupil,  the 
superintendent  places  large  responsibility  upon  the  principal, 
so  that  he  may  adapt  the  work  to  any  need  peculiar  to  the 
local  community.  The  principal  in  turn  gives  large  liberty 
to  the  teacher  in  meeting  individual  needs  of  pupils,  and  in 
following  out  lines  of  interest.  Under  such  conditions  the 
teacher  cannot  degenerate  into  an  automaton.  She  requires 
the  children  to  think  for  themselves,  to  use  their  heads. 
This  emphasis  upon  thought  rather  than  mere  memory  was 
noticeable  in  nearly  all  schoolrooms  that  were  visited.  There 
was  evidently  much  to  be  desired  on  the  score  of  broader 
preliminary  education  on  the  part  of  many  teachers,  yet  this 
lack  was  evidently  being  met,  to  a  considerable  extent,  by 
the  student  attitude  and  consequent  growth  in  power  char- 
acteristic of  a  body  of  teachers  who  are  being  stimulated  to 
regard  their  work  as  the  solution  of  a  series  of  vital  prob- 
lems, rather  than  as  a  routine  task. 


76  School  Organization  and  Administration 

DIVERSITY   IN    TIME   ALLOTMENTS 

As  might  be  expected  in  a  system  of  schools  in  which 
considerable  freedom  is  accorded  teachers,  there  is  much 
diversity  in  the  time  allotted  to  the  various  subjects  in  differ- 
ent schoolrooms  of  the  same  grade.  This  is  clearly  shown 
in  Table  XII.  One  cannot  say  so  many  minutes  per  day 
are  devoted  to  spelling  in  the  sixth  grade  of  the  Salt  Lake 
City  schools,  so  many  to  arithmetic,  and  so  many  to  reading. 
The  needs  of  the  particular  class  determine  the  time.  No 
teacher  can  excuse  poor  work  by  saying,  "  I  have  used  faith- 
fully each  day  during  the  semester  the  time  prescribed  for 
the  subject.  It  is  therefore  not  my  fault  that  the  children 
have  not  met  the  minimum  requirement  of  the  course  of 
study."  The  time  was  the  teacher's  to  apportion.  It  was 
her  responsibility  to  gauge  the  relative  strength  of  the 
class  in  the  various  subjects,  and  work  out  a  time  schedule 
to  fit  the  particular  problem  presented  by  her  own  pupils; 
not  only  to  work  it  out,  but  to  change  it  from  time  to  time 
to  meet  changing  needs  as  they  develop. 

Early  in  each  new  term  the  teacher  submits  to  the  princi- 
pal a  tentative  daily  program  for  his  approval.  This  pro- 
gram, either  as  first  presented  or  as  modified,  after  con- 
sultation, is  placed  on  the  blackboard  of  the  schoolroom, 
to  be  followed  till  some  modification  seems  desirable,  when, 
with  the  minimum  of  red  tape,  the  desired  change  is  ap- 
proved and  made. 

Table  XII  was  made  up  from  blanks  filled  out  by  the 
teachers  themselves,  on  the  basis  of  time  schedules  actually 
posted  in  the  schoolrooms  at  the  time  of  the  survey.  The 
variation  in  the  time  devoted  to  given  subjects  by  different 
teachers  of  the  same  grade,  as  shown  under  the  headings 
"  Maximum  "  and  "  Minimum  "  in  the  table,  are  so  great 
as  to  suggest  the  probability  that  some  subjects  are  being 
neglected  by  some  teachers,  while  other  subjects  are  over- 
emphasized. While  believing  in  the  principle  of  freedom 
on  the  part  of  the  teacher  in  regulating  her  own  program, 


The  Courses  of  Study 


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78          School  Organization  and  Administration 

and  in  corresponding  responsibility  for  results,  the  survey 
would  suggest  the  desirability  of  a  more  careful  examination 
and  criticism  by  some  principals  of  the  time  schedules  for 
their  classes  before  approval. 

From  a  study  of  Table  XII  this  responsibility  on  the  part 
of  the  principal  would  appear  to  have  been  performed  in 
many  instances  in  a  somewhat  perfunctory  manner.  In 
order  that  so  much  freedom  may  not  be  harmful,  instead 
of  helpful,  all  who  are  charged  with  responsibility  in  such 
matters  must  live  up  to  that  responsibility.  Where  such 
extreme  variations  as  appear  in  this  table  become  common, 
it  is  not  a  matter  for  surprise  that  many  superintendents 
feel  driven  to  the  unfortunate  necessity  of  going  to  the 
opposite  extreme  and  prescribing  time  limits  as  the  lesser 
of  two  evils.  The  recommendation  of  the  survey  is  that 
the  freedom  in  this  regard  that  now  obtains  in  Salt  Lake 
City  be  not  curtailed,  but  that  principals  and  teachers,  by 
study  and  consultation,  arrive  at  a  consensus  in  the  matter 
which  will  result  in  a  more  uniform  apportionment  of  time 
than  now  obtains.  However,  it  would  not  be  out  of  har- 
mony with  the  general  plan  of  the  course  of  study  to  make 
a  minimum  prescription  as  to  the  time  to  be  devoted  to  each 
subject,  grade  by  grade,  if  sufficient  time  were  left  unclassi- 
fied to  give  the  teacher  reasonable  scope  for  shifting 
emphasis  from  one  subject  to  another,  as  occasion  might 
seem  to  her  to  require.  The  policy  of  teacher  participation, 
under  which  the  Salt  Lake  City  courses  of  study  have  been 
formulated  and  from  time  to  time  revised,  is  commended  as 
likely  to  secure  sympathetic  and  intelligent  application  in 
the  schoolroom,  and  at  the  same  time  to  promote  profes- 
sional growth  of  teachers  in  service. 

PUPILS   WHO   CANNOT   ACCOMPLISH    THE   MINIMUM 

It  is  noted  in  the  foreword  that  the  course  "  represents 
the  minimum  attainments  to  be  made  by  pupils  before  pro- 
motion to  a  higher  class,"  and  •"  to  secure  uniform  and 


The  Courses  of  Study  79 

thorough  work  these  standards  should  be  carefully 
observed." 

One  adverse  comment  must  here  be  made :  Although,  in 
the  courses  as  outlined,  only  minimum  attainments  are  in- 
sisted upon,  attainments  easily  within  the  reach  of  normal- 
minded  children,  it  must  be  remembered  that  among  chil- 
dren of  school  age  everywhere  there  are  many  for  whom 
mastery  of  the  ordinary  courses  of  study  is  impossible.  The 
Salt  Lake  City  schools  present  no  exception  to  this  world- 
wide condition.  As  is  shown  in  Chapter  IX,  there  are  ap- 
proximately 600  children  enrolled  in  the  schools  who  are  of 
such  a  low  grade  of  mentality  that  they  cannot  profit  by 
strict  adherence  to  even  the  minimum  requirements  of 
courses  of  study  prepared  for  normal  children.  In  its  in- 
sistence upon  "  uniform  and  thorough  "  work,  without  ex- 
ceptions either  stated  or  implied,  the  demand  is  altogether 
too  sweeping.  It  is  likely  to  be  misleading,  too,  since  in  the 
ordinary  schoolrooms  throughout  the  city  there  are  many 
children  of  this  class  who  for  various  reasons  are  not  trans- 
ferred to  the  special  (Twelfth)  school,  where  of  course  it  is 
understood  that  the  regular  curriculum  need  not  be  followed. 

Furthermore,  it  is  questionable  whether  the  ordinary 
courses  of  study  are  suitable  for  a  relatively  large  group  of 
children  found  in  all  school  systems  who,  while  not  feeble 
minded,  are  unable  to  deal  effectively  with  printed  symbols, 
and  who  are  consequently  handicapped  in  their  progress 
through  those  courses  of  study  which  are  best  fitted  for 
such  children  as  can  readily  gain  ideas  from  the  printed 
page. 

No  exact  statement  can  be  made  as  to  the  number  of  chil- 
dren of  this  type.  Estimates  vary  from  10  to  30  per  cent, 
of  the  entire  enrollment.  One  cannot  study  the  statistics  of 
retardation  in  the  Salt  Lake  City  schools,  as  presented  in 
Chapter  IX,  without  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  the  con- 
ditions just  set  forth,  and  found  to  exist  throughout  the 
country  as  a  whole,  also  exist  here.  At  this  stage  of  prog- 
ress in  our  knowledge  of  the  needs  of  children  of  this  type, 


8o  School  Organization  and  Administration 

it  would  be  too  much  to  expect  that  courses  of  study  should 
provide  any  complete  scheme  for  the  education  of  pupils 
who  are  retarded  through  inability  to  think  in  symbols ;  but 
every  school  system  should  recognize  the  presence  in  the 
schools  of  a  considerable  number  of  such  children,  and  in 
general  terms  indicate  the  limits  within  which  prescribed 
"  minimum  attainments  "  are  to  be  insisted  upon.  Some 
possible  and  desirable  substitutions  for  the  present  pre- 
scribed work  will  be  offered  later  in  this  report.  The  prob- 
lem demands  careful  study,  and  the  fine  attitude  of  prin- 
cipals and  teachers  toward  attacking  vital  questions  should 
be  utilized  to  formulate  a  working  plan  for  the  next  re- 
vision, which  will  be  adapted  to  local  conditions,  and  by 
means  of  which  the  children  who  are  at  present  misfits  in 
the  regular  courses  may  find  a  more  objective  approach  to 
the  school  arts  than  current  practices  provide. 

III.    THE  SCHOOL  SUBJECTS  IN  DETAIL 

I.     MORALS,    MANNERS,    AND    CIVICS 

Prominence  Given  to  this  Subject 

Prominence  is  given  to  a  chapter  on  morals,  manners, 
and  civics  by  giving  it  first  place  in  the  printed  outline.  It 
would  not  be  easy  to  suggest  a  better  selection  of  topics  for 
emphasis  than  are  here  presented.  There  can  be  no  ques- 
tion that  the  phase  of  a  school's  influence  on  the  lives  of  its 
pupils  represented  by  this  chapter  is  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance. We  may  even  say  that  the  part  of  the  work  of  the 
schools  covered  by  the  topics  in  this  chapter  transcends  in 
importance  all  the  other  work  outlined,  without  in  the  least 
overstating  the  case;  and  yet  the  question  arises,  Would 
it  not  be  better  to  teach  morals,  manners,  and  civics  as  the 
occasion  calls  for  such  instruction,  and  through  the 
work  outlined  as  reading,  literature,  history,  civics,  and 
sociology  ? 


The  Courses  of  Study  81 

The  question  here  raised  is  not  upon  the  importance  of 
this  phase  of  instruction,  but  upon  the  most  effective  way  of 
giving  it.  Teachers  are  likely  to  get  the  impression,  from 
the  apparent  segregation  of  this  part  of  the  course  from  the 
portions  of  which  it  is  naturally  a  part,  that  it  is  a  subject  by 
itself  and  adequately  dealt  with  only  when  given  a  separate 
place  on  the  daily  program.  It  is  readily  admitted  that  this 
view  has  the  support  of  many  whose  opinions  are  entitled 
to  respect. 

Both  methods  of  teaching  morals,  the  direct  method  and 
the  incidental  method,  are  enjoined  in  the  outline.  If  a  sep- 
arate period  is  to  be  set  apart  for  this  work,  the  one  sug- 
gested in  the  course  of  study,  the  period  devoted  to  the 
opening  exercises  of  the  morning,  is  more  appropriate  than 
any  other  period  of  the  day. 


2.     THE   LANGUAGE,    OR   ENGLISH    GROUP 

Emphasis  on  English  Work 

The  following  closely  related  subjects  are  included :  Read- 
ing and  literature,  phonics,  language  and  grammar,  spelling 
and  writing.  Sixty-four  pages  of  the  course  of  study  are 
devoted  directly  to  these  various  phases  of  English  work, 
and,  in  addition,  suggestions  for  utilizing  the  abundant 
opportunities  for  English  teaching  afforded  by  other  studies 
are  of  frequent  occurrence.  Everywhere  in  the  course  of 
study  clear  and  forceful  expression  is  emphasized.  This  is 
particularly  true  in  history  and  geography.  On  page  153 
we  find  the  following  statement : 

"Geography  offers  excellent  opportunities  for  training  in  oral  and  written 
language.  Proper  training  in  thought  processes  should  at  the  same  time  de- 
velop power  of  oral  and  written  expression.  Give  careful  attention  to  the  mode 
of  expression  in  both  oral  and  written  work,  but  do  not  restrict  freedom  of  expres- 
sion by  ill-timed  criticism.  When  one  pupil  is  reciting,  require  respectful  at- 
tention from  all  others." 


82  School  Organization  and  Administration 

On  p.  114,  "  Much  of  the  foregoing  subject  matter  (his- 
tory) may  be  considered  in  language  "  ;  and  on  p.  121,  "  An 
excellent  opportunity  is  presented  in  the  study  of  history  to 
create  an  appreciation  of  and  a  love  for  many  beautiful  and 
inspiring  literary  productions,  poems,  and  songs."  Suitable 
selections  are  suggested.  A  careful  examination  of  the 
chapters  dealing  with  different  phases  of  English  work  leads 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  course  has  been  worked  out  with 
care  and  intelligence,  and  in  its  content  is  in  general  accord 
with  the  theory  and  practice  in  teaching  English  which  pre- 
vails in  the  best  school  systems  of  the  country. 


Reading  and  Literature 

The  strong  points  in  the  treatment  of  this  phase  of  the 
work  seem  to  be : 

1.  The  effectiveness  of  the  method  used  in  teaching  be- 
ginners to  read.     During  the  first  two  or  three  years  of  a 
child's  school  life  proficiency  in  reading  is  the  main  requisite 
for  promotion  from  grade  to  grade,  and  a  pupil's  progress 
throughout  the  school  course  is  influenced  largely  by  his 
power  to  read  and  interpret  the  books  to  which  he  has  access. 
From  the  first  attention  is  centered  upon  the  meaning  of 
what  is  read. 

2.  The  ban  is  placed  upon  nagging  about  minor  inaccu- 
racies.    "  Placing  undue  stress  upon  errors,  grammatical 
construction  and  inflections,  per  se,  will  do  little  to  secure 
cogent  thinking  and  fluent  and  flexible  expression."    (p.  47.) 

3.  "  The  stir  of  the  inner  man,  not  the  criticisms  of  outer 
manifestations,    makes     for    improvement,     development, 
growth."     (p.  43-) 

4.  Emphasis  upon  the  importance  of  strong  selections, 
possessing  unity  of  effect. 

5.  The  insistence  upon  the  teacher's  seeing  the  end  of 
each  reading  lesson,  upon  purpose,  plan,  and  a  well-thought- 
out  presentation. 


The  Courses  of  Study  83 

6.  Dramatization  as  an  adjunct  to  good  reading. 

7.  The  care  taken  to  insure  home  reading. 

Several  suitable  books  have  been  suggested  in  connection 
with  the  prescribed  reading,  in  classes  above  the  third  grade, 
and  pupils  are  shown  how  they  can  obtain  these  books.  An 
incidental  aim  is  to  teach  pupils  the  use  of  a  library  and  to 
bring  them  frequently  into  its  environment.  The  results  are 
held  to  be,  to  an  extent  at  least,  a  measure  of  the  teacher's 
power  to  inspire  her  pupils  with  a  genuine  love  of  reading. 

Good  Oral  Reading 

A  departure  from  the  usual  procedure  in  oral  reading, 
and  one  likely  to  forward  this  aim,  was  noted  with  approval 
in  two  classrooms.  Ordinarily  the  child  who  is  reading  has 
no  audience  in  any  true  sense.  All  members  of  the  class 
have  the  same  book  and  follow  more  or  less  attentively  the 
reader's  performance.  He  has  no  very  strong  motive  for 
clear  enunciation  or  the  cultivation  of  a  tone  that  will  carry 
to  distant  parts  of  the  room.  .No  one  needs  to  depend  upon 
his  performance  in  order  to  understand  the  paragraph  or  the 
selection  which  he  reads.  In  these  two  instances  the  reading 
was  from  an  interesting  library  book,  not  the  regular  school 
reader.  Only  one  copy  was  available,  but  the  children  who 
in  succession  read  from  this  book  had  a  real  audience,  and 
they  held  their  audience,  too.  There  was  the  keenest  inter- 
est in  the  story,  and  the  attention  was  absolute. 

If  a  reader  failed  momentarily  to  make  himself  under- 
stood, mass  sentiment  made  itself  felt.  The  effort  of  the 
reader  was  directed  toward  making  the  class  understand  the 
story.  The  story  was  one  that  the  class  wished  to  under- 
stand; consequently  the  exercise  claimed  and  secured  the 
undivided  attention  of  all. 

The  practice  of  oral  reading  under  conditions  which  hold 
the  reader  responsible  for  making  the  thought  of  the  author 
understood  by  a  real  audience  ought  to  be  far  more  common 
in  schools  than  it  now  .is. 


84  School  Organization  and  Administration 

Where  Improvements  Might  Be  Made 

Two  reservations  must  here  be  made  with  regard  to 
directions  otherwise  excellent : 

1.  In  the  outline  for  first  grade,  teachers  are  warned  not 
to  allow  children  to  read  orally  till  they  can  read  smoothly. 

This  implies  that  children  just  beginning  to  read  are  re- 
quired to  commit  to  memory,  for  the  moment,  every  sen- 
tence that  they  read  orally.  They  then  look  up  from  the 
book  and  "deliver  "  each  sentence  to  the  class. 

It  is  evident  that  only  very  brief  sentences  can  be  so  com- 
mitted and  delivered,  and  that  children  who  adhere  to  this 
practice  are  in  danger  of  being  held  to  the  reading  of  primer 
literature  long  after  they  have  sufficient  power  to  read  books 
of  real  merit  but  containing  sentences  too  long  to  be  ren- 
dered glibly  and  without  any  stumbling.  In  the  beginning, 
if  the  child  himself  can  get  the  thought  from  the  printed 
page,  he  is  doing  the  essential  thing.  As  early  as  possible, 
however,  he  should  be  taught  to  read  by  phrases  rather  than 
word  by  word,  in  order  to  facilitate  his  interpretation  of  an 
author's  thought. 

It  is  not  so  much  a  question  of  how  fluently  pupils  go 
through  a  certain  class  of  reading  matter,  as  a  question  of 
the  sort  of  reading  habits  that  are  being  formed. 

2.  The  course  is  entirely  lacking  in  directions  for  silent 
reading.     One  great  purpose  in  teaching  reading,  and  one 
which  should  receive  some  attention  even  from  the  first,  is 
its  value  for  the  reader's  own  benefit.    In  the  course  of  the 
survey  much  oral  reading  was  heard,  and,  on  the  whole, 
it  was  good  reading;  but  definite  practice  in  silent  reading 
for  the  thought  of  the  selection  was  never  seen  in  progress. 
Power  in  this  direction  is  implied  in  the  provision  for  home 
reading,  but  there  should  be  definite  school  practice  in  order 
to  make  sure  of  adequate  results.    The  schoolrooms  of  the 
city  are  well  supplied  with  reading  material.     This  is  espe- 
cially noticeable  in  the  primary  grades,  where  even  in  the 
first  grade  children  read  from  ten  -to  twelve  or  more  primers 


The  Courses  of  Study  85 

and  first  readers.  In  the  intermediate  grades  some  of  the 
work  in  history  is  done  in  the  reading  period.  This  is  true 
also  of  hygiene.  In  both  cases  the  textbooks  used,  having 
been  written  with  more  regard  to  literary  form  than  some 
books  of  their  class,  lend  themselves  very  well  to  this  time- 
saving  plan. 

Phonics 

The  outline  in  phonics  provides  for  the  necessary  amount 
of  work  in  ear  training,  and  gives  a  good  working  list  of 
phonograms,  suffixes,  and  prefixes. 

The  introduction  of  diacritical  markings  is  very  wisely 
postponed  until  the  latter  half  of  the  third  year  in  school. 
The  outline  makes  no  definite  provision  for  instruction  in 
the  use  of  the  dictionary,  but  the  phonetic  study  prepares 
pupils  to  interpret  dictionary  markings  and  to  distinguish 
the  root  forms  from  which  words  are  evolved. 

The  course  is  progressive  and  practical. 

Language  and  Grammar 

The  strength  of  the  work  in  the  primary  grades  seems  to 
be  found  in : 

1.  Making  grammar  work  dramatic  and  in  confining  the 
exercises  to  troublesome  verbs,  as,  "  action  and  object  exer- 
cises involving  the  verbs,  pronouns,  and  adjectives  used  in 
class  B  of  first  grade ;  also  set ;  sit ;  sat ;  lie ;  lain ;  lay ;  laid." 

(P-  72.). 

2.  Stimulating  the  imagination  of  the  pupils  by  the  use 
of  pictures.    "  Pictures  are  always  available,  and,  if  good, 
never  fail  to  stimulate  the  interest  of  children.  .  .  .  Pic- 
tures  furnish   an  excellent  basis   for  imaginative  stories, 
which  may  be  given  orally  or  in  written  form."     (p.  67.) 
In  circular  No.  14,  the  primary  supervisor  gives  a  valuable 
discussion  of  stories  from  pictures.     She  begins  the  dis- 
cussion with  this  much-needed  caution : 

"The  picture  story  has  too  often  meant  to  both  teacher  and  pupil  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  picture,  when  it  should  mean  the  story  which  the  picture  tells." 


86  School  Organization  and  Administration 

3.  Giving  much  time  to  oral  expression  before  beginning 
written  work. 

"The  stimulation  of  the  desire  to  use  good  language,  and  much  practice  in 
correct  oral  expression  in  the  school,  are  imperative  to  counteract  the  tendency 
to  use  incorrect  forms  on  the  playground."  (p.  68.)  "No  written  work  to  be 
required  in  this  class  (Second  A),  but  much  drill  in  the  retelling  of  short  stories 
limited  to  one  or  two  characters,  and  a  single  action,  previously  told  by  the 
teacher."  (p.  72.) 

4.  Making  every  lesson  a  language  lesson. 

"All  the  language  work  of  this  class  (First  A)  should  be  oral  work,  and  every 
recitation  should  be,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  a  language  lesson."  (p.  69.) 

5.  Committing  to  memory  many  fine  models  of  literature. 

"Selections  of  poetry  should  be  committed  to  memory  to  be  recited,  to 'be 
sung,  to  be  made  the  subject  of  conversation.  This  exercise  may  be  conducted 
on  a  generous  scale."  (p.  67.) 

6.  The  frequent  use  of  the  dramatic  method  in  oral  com- 
position. 

"Dramatization  of  simple  stories  to  give  freedom  in  oral  expression  and 
make  the  thought  of  the  story  real."  (p.  68.)  "The  stories  and  poems  of  this 
grade  (First  A)  are  to  be  told  and  recited  by  the  teacher,  and  should  not  be  read 
to  the  children."  (p.  69.) 

Spirit  of  the  Upper-Grade  Work 

The  spirit  of  the  course  in  language  and  grammar  out- 
lined for  the  grammar  grades  is  illustrated  by  the  following 
paragraphs  under  "  Suggestions  for  Grammar  Grades  " : 

"The  first  requirement  of  the  school  is  to  cause  the  child  to  be  at  home  in 
his  school  world;  to  express  his  thoughts  here  as  freely  and  frankly  as  he  does 
elsewhere;  to  be  as  spontaneous  in  his  expression  in  school  as  he  is  out  of  it. 
This  will  scarcely  come  to  pass  if  his  mind  is  centered  too  much  on  the  form,  if 
he  is  too  conscious  of  the  possibility  of  error. 

"The  function  of  all  language  and  grammar  work  is  to  cause  the  learner  to 
come  into  full  possession  of  himself;  to  be  sensitive  and  responsive  to  the  influ- 
ence of  thought;  to  be  able  to  express  himself  fluently,  elegantly,  thoughtfully; 
to  know  the  fitting  word  or  phrase  and  to  know  why  it  is  the  most  fitting  term 
to  use.  To  know  the  parts  of  speech,  the  rules  and  definitions  of  technical 


The  Courses  of  Study  87 

English,  and  the  analysis  of  each  and  every  sentence,  only  is  really  worth  while 
when  this  knowledge  can  be  transformed  into  working  capital  which  can  be 
invested  properly  and  profitably  in  all  the  occasions  of  the  life  of  thought." 

Some  of  the  admirable  qualities  in  language  work  for 
grammar  grades  are : 

1.  Composition  laws  and  grammar  rules  are  considered 
of  value  only  so  far  as  they  aid  the  pupil  to  speak  and  write 
with  clearness,  force,  and  ease. 

2.  The  insistence  upon  the  study  of  model  selections  in 
teaching  composition  and  appreciating  the  ideal  in  literature. 

3.  The  idea  that  language  study  is  a  part  of  every  lesson. 

"Language  teaching  is  not  to  be  confined  to  the  language  lesson  alone. 
Every  lesson  is  to  a  degree  a  language  lesson.  It  is  of  little  avail  to  lay  stress  on 
rules  of  language  during  the  regular  lesson,  and  then  for  all  the  rest  of  the  day 
permit  children  to  be  careless  in  their  talk  and  written  work."  (p.  84.) 

4.  The  equal  emphasis  upon  oral  and  written  expression. 

5.  The  emphasis  upon  content  as  well  as  form. 

"Subjects  for  conversation  and  for  composition  are  always  to  be  adapted  to 
the  age,  knowledge,  and  interests  of  the  children.  Something  to  say  and  a 
desire  to  say  it  are  both  essential  prerequisites  to  good  language."  (p.  86.) 

6.  Constant  attention  to  enlarging  the  students'  vocab- 
ularies. 

"In  all  language  work  the  child  must  not  only  be  taught  to  master  his  vo- 
cabulary, but  he  must  be  taught  to  acquire  a  vocabulary  worthy  of  mastery. 
If  the  child  is  to  acquire  an  adequate  and  worthy  vocabulary,  the  teacher  must 
purposefully  guide  him  in  the  acquisition  and  use  of  that  vocabulary."  (p.  85.) 


SPELLING 

Directions  for  the  Work  in  Spelling 

The  suggestions  and  directions  for  teaching  spelling  given 
in  the  course  of  study  are  excellent.  A  spelling  book  is  used, 
beginning  with  the  third  grade.  Work  in  phonics  which,  as 
a  distinct  course,  terminates  with  the  third  grade,  is  not 


88  School  Organization  and  Administration 

to  be  neglected.  A  review  of  the  phonograms  previously 
taught  is  called  for  in  the  fourth-grade  course  in  spelling. 
In  the  fourth  and  every  succeeding  grade  to  the  eighth  the 
correlation  idea  is  emphasized  in  the  following  direction :  - 

"Many  words  are  to  be  learned  as  they  are  needed  in  the  study  of  different 
subjects,  or  as  the  child's  written  expression  demands.  Spelling  drill  should  be 
a  lively  exercise." 

This  excellent  suggestion  also  appears : 

"Prevention  is  better  than  cure  in  spelling,  and  the  skilled  teacher  will  aim 
to  avoid  all  errors  by  making  necessary  suggestions  before  the  lesson  is  studied, 
not  after.  There  will  be  some  errors  even  with  this  careful  assignment,  but  the 
number  will  be  small  and  may  receive  individual  attention." 

And  again :  "  Anticipate  errors  in  spelling  and  try  to 
safeguard  the  pupils  against  making  them.  It  is  easier  to 
do  than  to  undo  and  do."  Also :  Oral  spelling  is  advocated 
"  for  guaranteeing  the  correct  sound  interpretation,"  but  — 
"  The  written  form  is  the  final  form  and  the  one  most  used 
in  normal  life  after  school;  consequently  it  should  be  the 
real  test  of  a  pupil's  capability." 

The  use  of  the  dictionary  is  enjoined,  and  some  of  the 
possible  causes  of  poor  spelling  are  pointed  out. 

Time  Given  to  Spelling 

Although  the  time  devoted  to  spelling  is  not  prescribed 
in  the  course  of  study,  it  is  evidently  regarded  by  the  teachers 
as  a  highly  important  subject.  In  many  of  the  grammar 
grades  fully  half  an  hour  per  day,  or  one-tenth  of  the  entire 
school  time,  is  devoted  to  study  and  recitation  in  this  sub- 
ject, and  even  a  longer  expenditure  of  time  is  not  uncom- 
mon. Keen  interest  is  stimulated  by  a  lively  competition 
between  schools,  and  by  uniform  competitive  tests  formu- 
lated in  the  office  of  the  superintendent.  As  measured  by 
the  survey  by  means  of  the  Ayres  standard  tests,  as  will 
be  described  in  some  detail  in  Chapter  VIII,  the  results  of 


The  Courses  of  Stttdy  89 

this  rather  extreme  attention  to  spelling  show  in  a  very  high 
score ;  but  it  is  a  question  whether  the  children  of  Salt  Lake 
City  are  not  sacrificing  something  in  other  lines  by  devoting 
so  large  a  proportion  of  the  total  time  available  to  spelling. 

The  first  investigator  of  note,  Dr.  J.  M.  Rice,  concluded 
that  more  than  fifteen  minutes  a  day  devoted  to  spelling  was 
time  absolutely  wasted.  According  to  this  view  five  per 
cent,  of  the  total  time  would  be  ample ;  yet,  estimated  on  the 
basis  of  the  median  of  the  table,  Salt  Lake  City  children 
spend  eight  and  three-tenths  per  cent,  of  the  total  time  upon 
this  subject.  During  the  year  1909  the  elementary  schools 
of  Boston,  New  York,  Chicago,  Rochester,  Cincinnati,  Indi- 
anapolis, St.  Louis,  Milwaukee,  Kansas  City,  San  Francisco, 
and  Cleveland  devoted  an  average  of  only  five  and  seven- 
tenths  per  cent,  of  their  time  to  spelling  (estimated  from 
Table  XIII),  a  proportion  not  greatly  in  excess  of  Dr.  Rice's 
suggested  maximum.  According  to  average  standards  the 
children  in  the  Salt  Lake  City  schools  are  good  spellers.  We 
would  not  say  they  spell  too  well,  but  we  believe  as  good  re- 
sults could  be  secured  with  less  expenditure  of  time. 

Some  admirable  characteristics  of  the  course  of  study  in 
spelling  are : 

1.  The  insistence  in  all  spelling  work  upon  anticipating 
errors. 

2.  Emphasis    upon    the    relation    of    pronunciation    to 
spelling. 

3.  The  constant  injunction  to  relate  spelling  to  composi- 
tion activities.    "  The  real  test  of  good  spelling  is  found  in 
the  written  composition." 

4.  Emphasis  upon  training  children  to  use  the  dictionary. 

5.  Insistence  upon  selecting  words  from  geography,  his- 
tory, etc. 

6.  Much  drill  upon  lists  of  words  commonly  misspelled. 


School  Organization  and  Administration 


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Data  for  this  table  were  taken  from  a  Preliminary  Report  on  Simplified  Course  of  Study  —  Cleveland  Public  Schools,  1009- 
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The  Courses  of  Study  91 

4.    WRITING 

The  Method  Used 

In  the  first  half  of  the  first  grade  the  course  of  study 
calls  for  free  work  with  chalk  on  the  blackboard,  to  train 
the  children  to  the  control  of  their  larger  arm  muscles.  In 
the  second  half  unruled  paper  is  used  in  addition  to  the 
blackboard.  Large  writing  with  full  arm  movement  is 
enjoined,  —  no  guide  lines  until  the  second-B  grade  is 
reached.  The  course  allows  comparatively  little  writing 
with  pencil,  but  much  upon  the  blackboard.  After  this 
more  writing  may  be  required  of  pupils,  but  care  is  to  be 
exercised  lest  fatigue  engender  carelessness  of  effort.  Cor- 
rect movement,  proper  position,  and  reasonable  speed  are 
to  be  insisted  upon.  The  letter  forms  are  those  now  gen- 
erally used  in  schools,  a  medium  slant. 

The  survey  staff  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  writing  of  the 
children  in  the  Salt  Lake  City  schools  compares  favorably 
with  that  found  in  other  cities,  and  the  tests  described  in 
Chapter  VIII  show  that  it  is  considerably  above  the  average. 

5.     HISTORY,    CIVICS,    AND   SOCIOLOGY 

The  General  Plan 

The  course  of  study  in  history  provides  for  the  teaching 
of  United  States  history  in  the  fifth,  sixth,  and  eighth 
grades.  In  the  eighth  grade,  B  class,  a  general  review  of 
United  States  history  is  called  for,  following  a  well-pre- 
pared outline.  Besides  the  regular  textbook  with  which 
each  pupil  is  supplied,  several  reference  books  of  wider 
scope  are  accessible  to  the  pupils  of  each  eighth-grade  room, 
and  several  desk  books  of  excellent  quality  are  provided  for 
the  teachers. 

In  the  seventh  grade  United  States  history  is  incidental 
to  the  work  in  geography.  North  America  is  the  topic,  and 


92  School  Organization  and  Administration 

it  is  enjoined  that  historical  information  pertaining  to  the 
division  being  studied  shall  receive  special  consideration. 
United  States  history  through  biography  has  a  place  in 
every  grade  below  the  fifth,  through  such  study  of  one  or 
more  of  our  great  historical  personalities  as  is  suited  to  the 
age  of  the  children.  It  is  included  in  these  grades  chiefly 
on  account  of  its  ethical  value.  The  ethical  aim,  in  fact, 
dominates  the  course  in  history  as  a  whole.  The  following 
statement  found  in  the  course  of  study  will  illustrate  this : 

"  No  other  subject  so  touches  both  the  head  and  heart  of  mankind.  The  ethi- 
cal impulse  should  be  the  basis  of  all  instruction  in  all  grades.  It  is  the  goodness 
of  mankind  that  has  evolved  the  good  of  civilization,  and  the  child  should  be 
taught  to  appreciate  the  nobility  of  those  whose  acts  constitute  the  history  of 
the  race  and  have  determined  the  progress  of  ideas."  (p.  108.) 


Attention  to  Local  History 

Much  attention  is  given  in  each  grade  to  local  history  and 
institutions.  In  the  fifth  grade,  A  class,  the  history  of  Utah 
receives  special  emphasis.  An  excellent  outline  is  furnished. 
In  the  fifth  grade,  B  class,  and  in  the  sixth  grade,  emphasis 
is  placed  upon  the  functions  of  the  various  departments  of 
the  city  government.  Too  much  praise  cannot  be  given  to 
the  treatment  suggested  for  such  topics  as  the  police  de- 
partment, the  fire  department,  the  health  department,  the 
garbage  system,  irrigation,  public  parks,  the  city's  water 
system,  and  the  general  plan  of  city  government. 

An  especially  noteworthy  feature  of  the  work  in  civics  is 
the  way  in  which  each  city  department  head  has  been  led  to 
cooperate  with  the  schools  by  furnishing  an  outline  or  de- 
scription of  the  functions  of  his  department,  and  the  way 
it  fits  into  the  general  scheme  of  city  government.  At  the 
invitation  of  the  grammar-grade  supervisor  the  department 
heads  meet  the  teachers,  from  time  to  time,  and  explain  in 
detail  the  scope  of  the  work  which  they  have  previously  out- 
lined in  somewhat  brief  form.  The  survey  staff  is  of  the 
opinion  that  like  enterprise  on  the  part  of  supervisory  offi- 


The  Courses  of  Study  93 

cers,  resulting  in  hearty  cooperation  on  the  part  of  city  de- 
partment heads  in  dealing  with  community  civics,  is  far 
from  common,  and  they  commend  it  without  reservation. 

Excellent  Features  of  the  Course 

Among  the  excellent  features  of  the  course  under  discus- 
sion we  note : 

1.  The  emphasis  placed  upon  making  history  (a)  vivid, 
(b)   a  source  for  creating  ideals,    (c)   correlation  in  the 
method  of  presentation  with  the  composition  approach  to  a 
subject  (pages  68  and  69,  with  109). 

2.  The  emphasis  upon  purposeful  work.    The  purpose  in 
the  early  work  is  apparently  not  to  teach  facts,  but  to  instill 
ideals  by  making  historic  personalities  and  national  and  local 
scenes  live  again  in  the  imaginations  of  the  children. 

3.  That  directions  are  given  to  consider  much  of  the 
subject  matter  as  suited  to  the  language  work. 

4.  The  definiteness  with  which  the  course  in  history  is 
presented  to  the  teachers. 

5.  Investigations  by  classes  are  recommended. 

6.  The  course  for  upper  grammar  grades  should  stim- 
ulate a  sense  of  gratitude   for  and  loyalty  to  the  city 
government. 

7.  The  use  of  literary  selections  to  supplement  history 
talks  is  suggested,  and  a  suitable  list  is  given. 

6.     NATURE   STUDY 

The  Printed  Outline 

Although  nature  study  is  outlined  as  a  separate  subject, 
the  fact  that  geography,  history,  and  nature  work  in  the 
elementary  school  should  be  considered  as  a  unit  is  not  lost 
sight  of.  We  find  this  paragraph : 

"Nature  study  and  history,  industrially  and  socially  considered,  cannot  be 
separated  from  geography  in  the  primary  grades.  Many  of  the  basic  geographi- 


94  School  Organization  and  Administration 

cal  concepts  depend  upon  certain  physical  laws  which  must  be  understood  to 
gain  the  concept,  and  a  mental  picture  of  some  of  the  great  migrations  of  the 
race,  of  the  adjustments  and  readjustments  of  a  people  to  a  changing  and  de- 
veloping environment  on  the  great  march  of  progress,  are  necessary  to  give 
meaning  and  value  to  a  study  of  the  earth  as  the  home  of  man."  (p.  128.) 

The  desired  correlation  is  left  for  the  teacher  to  work  out. 
The  outline  might  to  advantage  do  more  in  this  direction. 
The  correlation  of  nature  study  with  language  is  hinted  at 
in  the  language  course  (p.  78),  but  not  emphasized.  In 
the  case  of  other  subjects  the  correlation  idea  is  usually  kept 
in  the  foreground. 

The  human  aspect  of  the  course  is  made  prominent. 

"  Children  are  not  interested  in  the  contour  or  relief  of  a  body  of  land.  They 
care  nothing  for  land  forms  or  water  divisions,  but  they  are  intensely  interested 
in  children  of  other  lands.  How  these  children  look,  what  they  do,  how  they 
live,  are  subjects  of  unfailing  interest  and  wonder,  and  it  is  through  these 
subjects  that  we  must  reach  land  and  water  divisions  and  strictly  geographical 
concepts."  (pp.  128-9.) 

The  work  in  each  grade  is  well  within  the  grasp  of  the 
average  city  child  with  limited  opportunity  for  observation. 
It  is  very  evidently  a  minor  course  in  the  primary-school 
curriculum.  The  natural  working  from  the  home  out  into 
the  nation  is  a  commendable  feature  of  the  course  for  pri- 
mary grades. 

The  work  outlined  for  the  grammar  grades  is  largely  geo- 
graphical, though  some  definite  work  in  physics  is  included. 
It  is  suggested  that  in  the  last  two  grammar  grades  at  least 
one  regular  period  per  week  be  devoted  to  this  subject. 

Diversity  in  Kind  and  Amount  of  Work  Done 

There  is  considerable  diversity  in  the  interpretation  of  the 
course  in  different  schools,  and  by  teachers  of  the  same 
grade.  This,  however,  is  seen  to  be  desirable  when  the  pur- 
pose of  the  course  is  taken  into  account.  The  training  in  ob- 
servation and  reasoning  from  cause  to  effect  is  considered, 
as  it  should  be,  of  more  importance  than  the  acquisition  of 


The  Courses  of  Study  95 

set  facts.  The  teacher  can  best  develop  these  powers  in 
children  by  giving  most  prominence  to  those  topics  which 
most  appeal  to  her  own  interest,  and  which  therefore  she 
can  cause  to  be  of  interest  to  her  class.  Nature  study  is  the 
one  subject  in  the  course  in  which  wide  latitude  may  be 
accorded  to  the  individual  teacher  without  defeating  the 
purposes  which  the  course  is  intended  to  serve.  This  would 
seem  to  be  the  theory  also  as  to  different  schools. 

For  instance,  in  one  school,  the  Webster,  bird  study 
seemed  at  the  time  of  the  survey  to  be  receiving  much  more 
attention  than  was  in  evidence  at  any  other  school  visited 
by  the  survey.  In  each  of  the  eighteen  rooms  of  the  school 
a  different  bird  had  been  chosen  from  a  list  of  fifty,  com- 
mon to  the  locality.  After  reasonable  time  for  study  of  the 
bird  of  her  choice,  each  teacher  made  an  outline  which  she 
used  with  her  own  class,  and  which  she  then  explained  to 
the  other  seventeen  teachers  of  the  school,  the  principal  hav- 
ing meanwhile  caused  copies  to  be  made  for  their  use.  Each 
teacher  devoted  the  nature-study  periods  of  six  weeks  to  the 
bird  of  her  choice,  and  later  two  periods  to  each  of  the  other 
seventeen  birds,  having  as  an  aid  in  this  task  the  outlines 
prepared  by  her  colleagues.  Some  encroachment  on  the 
time  usually  devoted  to  drawing  was  permitted. 

The  bird  chosen  for  intensive  study  by  a  class  was  studied 
first  from  life,  then  more  closely  from  a  stuffed  specimen. 
In  the  course  of  this  study  it  was  drawn  by  the  children  in 
plain  crayon,  then  its  habitat  was  drawn,  then  the  bird  in 
its  habitat ;  then  the  process  was  repeated  by  the  children  in 
the  same  order,  using  appropriate  colors.  Finally  the  bird 
was  modeled  in  clay  and  cast  in  plaster.  All  drawing  was 
on  large  gray  paper,  mounted  on  the  blackboard.  Surpris- 
ingly good  results  were  shown,  and  astonishingly  free  and 
rapid  work.  The  children  will  never  forget  the  characteris- 
tics of  birds  thus  studied.  A  fitting  climax  was  afforded 
for  this  piece  of  cooperative  work  by  the  grammar-grade 
supervisor,  who  saw  to  it  that  mimeograph  sets  of  the  out- 
lines prepared  by  the  teachers  of  the  Webster  School  were 


g6  School  Organization  and  Administration 

furnished  to  all  other  schools  of  the  city.  This  particular 
instance  of  sharing  the  benefits  of  the  enterprise  of  one 
school  with  the  city  as  a  whole  is  only  a  single  sample  of  a 
highly  commendable  custom  in  vogue  in  the  Salt  Lake  City 
schools. 

School  and  Home  Gardening 

The  course  of  study  lays  stress  upon  the  school  garden 
and  the  home  garden  as  adjuncts  in  nature  study.  In  this 
particular,  as  well  as  in  its  aim  to  cultivate  habits  of  observa- 
tion and  incidentally  to  impart  a  body  of  useful  information, 
the  course  suggested  for  Salt  Lake  City  is  in  keeping  with 
the  courses  suggested  for  other  cities.  The  members  of 
the  survey  did  not  see  evidences  that  practice  was  generally 
up  to  the  outlines  provided.  The  school  board  has  recently 
made  provision  for  exceptionally  good  work  in  this  subject, 
in  some  of  the  outlying  sections,  by  purchasing  ample  tracts 
of  land  in  connection  with  a  few  of  its  newer  buildings, 
but  in  connection  with  the  older  schools  little  or  nothing 
is  done. 

The  Whittier  School  furnishes  the  best  example  of  the 
use  which  may  be  made  of  the  land  for  educational  pur- 
poses. Of  its  nine-acre  tract,  two  and  one-half  acres  are 
devoted  to  the  school  garden.  Plans  for  group  gardens  and 
individual  gardens  are  worked  out  in  the  school  as  a  part 
of  the  regular  course  in  nature  study.  Garden  work  is  done 
outside  of  school  hours,  and  during  the  vacation  period. 
The  part  of  the  product  belonging  to  individuals  is  taken 
to  the  homes  to  supply  family  needs.  The  portion  belonging 
to  the  school,  after  being  displayed  by  sample  at  the  State 
Fair  and  in  bulk  at  the  school,  is  sold  to  school  patrons  at 
regular  market  prices.  Last  year  the  money  was  used  to 
buy  imported  flower  bulbs.  These  were  planted  in  October 
by  all  teachers  and  pupils,  in  conformity  with  a  color  scheme 
in  the  evolution  of  which  all  had  had  a  part.  The  aim  was 
to  secure  individual  interest  in  a  community  problem.  At 


The  Courses  of  StwLy  97 

one  time  early  last  spring  1,200  to  1,500  flowers  were  in 
bloom. 

The  school  site  purchased  by  the  board  of  education  in- 
cluded part  of  an  old  fruit  orchard.  The  trees  were  pruned 
by  schoolboys  with  tools  from  the  manual-training  shop,  the 
work  being  done  under  the  direction  of-  the  principal  of  the 
school  and  the  superintendent  of  parks.  As  a  result  of  this 
pruning  the  trees  were  loaded  with  fruit  the  next  season. 
The  fruit  was  green  when  school  opened  in  September,  but 
was  allowed  to  remain  on  the  trees  untouched  for  four 
weeks,  until  it  was  thoroughly  ripe.  It  was  then  picked  by 
committees  of  pupils  and  taken  to  the  domestic-science  room, 
where  a  part  of  it  was  canned  by  the  girls  as  a  lesson  in 
the  regular  course  in  cooking.  The  portion  that  was  not 
used  in  making  jam,  jelly,  plum  butter,  etc.,  was  distributed 
among  the  pupils  in  the  various  classrooms.  The  canned 
fruit  was  displayed  at  the  State  Fair. 

This  eminently  practical  application  of  nature  study,  made 
under  the  direction  of  the  principal  of  the  Whittier  School, 
is  not  surpassed  by  any  similar  enterprise  in  a  public  school 
system  elsewhere  with  which  the  members  of  the  survey  are 
acquainted.  It  represents  a  tendency  which  is  beginning  to 
make  itself  felt  in  the  "  Back  to  the  Land  "  movement  in 
many  of  our  cities,  and  it  is  worthy  of  all  the  encouragement 
which  school  officials  can  give  it.  This  case  of  individual 
work  ought  to  become  common  in  the  city.  The  educational 
value  of  such  work  is  very  large. 

7.     ARITHMETIC 

Nature  of  the  Printed  Course 

The  courses  of  study  in  arithmetic  throughout  the  country 
are  now  so  nearly  alike  in  requirements  that  the  chief  differ- 
ence between  any  two  courses  is  in  the  form  of  statement 
and  the  kinds  of  exercises  prescribed.  Grade  limits  are  prac- 
tically the  same.  In  Salt  Lake  City,  children  in  the  first 


98  School  Organization  and  Administration 

grade  count  within  the  limit  of  100,  add  within  the  limit 
of  ten,  and  they  learn  how  many  2's  in  4,  3's  in  6,  etc. 
There  is  no  haste.  Number  facts  are  to  be  discovered,  and 
not  told  or  explained.  The  discoveries  are  to  be  made 
through  the  exercise  of  motor  activity.  Attention  is  called 
to  the  fact  that  mental  growth  is  even  more  a  question  of 
time  than  physical  growth.  Therefore  teachers  are  advised 
to  see  that  conditions  are  such  that  the  child  if  mentally 
ready  will  reach  the  number  fact  or  relation  desired.  If  he 
cannot  reach  that  fact  or  relation  without  help  he  is  not 
ready  for  that  step,  and  the  teacher  is  to  wait  patiently  for 
growth  in  mental  power.  This  is  sound  doctrine,  and  it 
represents  the  practice  now  general  in  progressive  school 
systems. 

Number  facts  and  relations  are  to  be  developed  objec- 
tively, with  no  written  work  in  first  grade  and  only  a  mod- 
erate amount  in  the  second  grade.  The  multiplication  tables 
are  begun  in  the  third  grade,  but  their  completion  is  not 
called  for  till  the  fourth  grade  is  reached.  In  the  fifth  grade 
the  emphasis  is  upon  fractions,  though  some  simple  oral 
fractional  work  has  occurred  earlier.  In  the  sixth  grade 
decimal  fractions  are  to  be  carefully  and  thoroughly  taught. 
Percentage  furnishes  the  chief  portion  of  the  seventh-grade 
work,  and  in  the  eighth  grade  special  applications  of  per- 
centage are  considered  and  the  earlier  work  of  the  course 
is  reviewed.  This  is  essentially  the  work  today  in  all  good 
courses  of  study.  Some  changes  in  upper-grade  work  for 
the  seventh  and  particularly  the  eighth  will  be  discussed 
further  on,  in  connection  with  the  Junior  High  School. 

The  Teaching  Observed 

The  methods  of  teaching  this  subject  observed  in  the 
schoolrooms  visited  were  substantially  in  accord  with  the 
sound  pedagogic  directions  of  the  course  of  study.  The 
time  devoted  to  the  subject  shows  the  same  wide  vari- 
ation that  has  been  pointed  out  in  connection  with  spelling. 


The  Courses  of  Study  99 

The  average  time  given  to  arithmetic  in  the  eleven  cities 
in  Table  XIII  is  15.2  per  cent,  of  the  total  time.  The  median 
time  devoted  to  the  subject  in  Salt  Lake  City  is  16.6  per  cent, 
of  the  total  time.  Both  the  time  given  to  the  subject  and  the 
results  shown  by  the  standard  tests,  described  at  length  in 
Chapter  IX,  make  it  clear  that  arithmetic  is  not  neglected  in 
Salt  Lake  City.  A  recent  circular  here  reproduced  will  serve 
to  show  the  intelligent  care  with  which  the  brief  directions 
of  the  course  of  study  are  supplemented,  from  time  to  time 
and  as  occasion  arises: 

January  27,  1914. 
To  PRINCIPALS  AND  TEACHERS: 

Arithmetic 

The  Course  is  to  be  considered  as  mandatory  in  all  essential  particulars,  and 
the  subject-matter  given  in  the  textbook  is  all  to  be  taught.  It  is,  however, 
necessary  to  consider  some  principles  and  processes  as  relatively  more  important 
than  others.  In  these,  pupils  will  be  expected  to  reach  a  high  degree  of  efficiency 
consistent  with  age  and  normal  possibilities. 

In  the  following  graphic  representation,  an  attempt  is  made  to  show  at  a 
glance  which  of  certain  essentials  should  be  emphasized  or  reviewed.  It  will 
be  observed  that  the  fundamental  processes  are  to  be  thoroughly  taught  in  the 
fourth  grade;  however,  that  they  are  to  be  reviewed  and  strengthened  in  each 
succeeding  grade.  The  subject  of  fractions  is  to  be  thoroughly  considered  in 
the  fifth  grade,  but  must  be  reviewed  and  strengthened  in  each  grade  above  the 
fifth  grade,  etc.  Thus  each  grade  above  the  grade  in  which  any  important 
principle  has  been  considered  will  be  expected  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  pupils 
in  that  subject  in  so  far  as  reviews  and  limited  teaching  can  make  for  efficiency. 

In  the  reviews  care  must  be  exercised  to  add  new  power  and  knowledge  as 
well  as  to  make  present  possessions  clear  and  ready.  Too  frequently  reviews 
cover  the  old  ground  in  the  old  way  with  little  or  no  profit. 

Grade  4    Grade  5    Grade  6    Grade  7    Grade  8 


a               a               a 
b               b 

c 

a 
b 

c 
d 

a    Fundamental  Processes 
b    Fractions 
Denominate  Numbers 
c        and  Measurements 
d    Percentage  and  Interest 
e     Business  Application 

G.  N.  CHILD, 
Supervisor  of  Grammar  Grades. 


ioo          School  Organization  and  Administration 

8.     GEOGRAPHY 

The  Course  Good 

This  course  of  study  provides  for  the  study  of  geography 
from  the  third  to  the  seventh  grades  inclusive.  When  the 
Salt  Lake  City  course  of  study  in  geography  is  compared 
with  the  courses  for  our  better  city  school  systems,  no  sig- 
nificant differences  appear.  The  general  movement  in  all 
the  courses  is  now  from  the  home  and  its  environment  to 
the  earth  as  a  whole,  and  from  this  to  North  America  and 
a  detailed  study  of  the  United  States. 

The  Salt  Lake  City  course  emphasizes  the  study  of  home 
or  local  geography  in  an  especially  effective  way.  Few 
places  afford  better  opportunities  for  teaching  land  and 
water  forms  by  direct  personal  observation  than  does  the 
Salt  Lake  Valley.  The  use  of  the  sand  table  is  advised  and 
practiced  in  the  third  grade,  so  that  as  soon  as  the  impres- 
sion is  gained  through  observation  its  expression  may  fol- 
low. Pictures  and  objects  are  collected  by  teachers  and 
pupils  and  freely  used. 

The  outlines  and  the  suggestions  for  teaching  contained 
in  them  are  admirable.  They  are  definite,  without  being 
too  exhaustive,  and  the  plan  of  work  as  outlined  is  especially 
adapted  to  the  region  about  Salt  Lake  City.  A  brief  survey 
of  the  modes  of  life  of  primitive  man  leads  up  to  a  study  of 
farming  and  cattle  raising  under  modern  conditions  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake.  The  outline  includes 
an  experimental  study  of  the  geographical  features  of  the 
city  and  surroundings,  and  of  the  formation  of  soil ;  a  brief 
survey  of  dry  farming  in  Utah;  the  sugar-beet  industry; 
sheep  and  cattle  raising;  and  the  leading  manufactures. 

It  fs  a  question  whether  the  study  of  the  sugar-beet  indus- 
try should  be  carried  so  far  in  this  grade,  since  eight-year-old 
children  are  scarcely  capable  of  contrasting  the  political 
effects  of  the  sugar-cane  industry  with  the  political  effects  of 


The  Courses  of  Study  101 

the  sugar-beet  industry.  Studies  of  social  and  political 
causes  and  effects  may  well  be  postponed  until  pupils  are 
sufficiently  matured  to  form  intelligent  conclusions.  Initial 
study  of  the  world's  commerce  and  of  the  reasons  for  the 
exchange  of  goods  between  states  and  countries  is,  however, 
quite  within  the  grasp  of  third-grade  pupils,  and  the  teachers 
who  present  the  subject  as  outlined  are  laying  a  broad  foun- 
dation for  future  study  of  commercial  exchange.  On  the 
whole,  these  outlines  for  third-grade  geography  are  models 
of  their  kind. 


The  Instruction  Observed 

The  home  city  and  the  home  state  having  been  studied 
intensively,  the  child  is  prepared  to  comprehend  what  his 
teacher  and  his  books  have  to  say  about  other  political 
divisions  and  cities.  This  is  the  method  advocated  in  the 
course.  It  is  the  method  of  comparison.  Map  drawing 
is  practiced  wholly  from  the  point  of  view  of  gaining  power 
to  interpret  maps.  It  is  justly  regarded  as  of  indispensable 
importance.  Rapidly  drawn  relief  and  outline  maps,  with 
just  the  amount  of  detail  called  for  in  the  topic  under  con- 
sideration, are  therefore  emphasized  in  all  grades. 

A  modern  course  in  geography  makes  large  demands  upon 
the  scholarship  and  resources  of  teachers.  In  a  recent  report 
of  the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Education  we  find  a 
recognition  of  the  immensely  increased  scope  of  the  geog- 
raphy of  today,  as  compared  with  that  of  half  a  century  ago: 

"It  is  hard  to  realize  the  immense  distance  that  separates  the  scanty  sailor 
geography  of  half  a  century  ago  from  the  complicated  network  of  relations  of 
physical,  social,  and  political  facts,  gathered  in  50  years  of  untiring  research, 
which  now,  under  the  name  of  geography,  form  a  part  of  the  daily  food  of  all 
children  in  the  elementary  school." 

In  view  of  this  situation  it  is  essential  that  schools  be 
liberally  supplied  with  suitable  books,  so  that  the  children 
can  obtain  for  themselves  the  greater  part  of  the  information 


102          School  Organization  and  Administration 

for  which  the  course  of  study  calls.  The  school  board  of 
Salt  Lake  City  has  met  this  requirement  with  liberality. 
The  children  are  well  supplied  with  supplementary  geo- 
graphical readers,  as  well  as  with  modern  basal  textbooks 
in  the  subject. 

9.    MUSIC 

The  course  of  study  in  music  appears  to  be  very  carefully 
arranged  as  to  grading,  with  especial  and  detailed  directions 
to  the  teachers  in  the  lowest  grades.  These  indicate  an  ap- 
preciation of  the  ideals  of  primary-grade  methods  in  music, 
as  advocated  by  the  leaders  in  the  teaching  of  the  subject. 

Instruction  Observed 

It  was  evident  to  members  of  the  survey,  as  they  observed 
the  manner  in  which  exercises  in  music  were  conducted,  that 
much  well-directed  effort  has  been  devoted  to  this  study 
through  a  series  of  years.  When  the  junior  high  school 
plan  becomes  fully  established,  so  that  all  instruction  in  the 
seventh  and  eighth  grades  may  be  on  the  departmental  plan, 
the  music  work  of  these  grades  will  undoubtedly  show  better 
results  than  are  now  generally  obtainable,  for  then  it  will 
be  possible  to  have  the  instruction  given  by  teachers  who 
have  shown  special  aptitude  for  the  work.  At  present,  as 
might  be  expected,  there  is  considerable  variation  in  the  en- 
thusiasm for  music  manifested  in  different  schools,  accord- 
ing as  they  are  less  or  more  fortunate  in  having  upper-grade 
teachers  who  have  talent  in  this  direction. 

In  the  Lafayette  School  an  extremely  effective  plan  for 
furnishing  motive  for  good  music  work  is  carried  out  in 
the  morning  exercises.  The  children  of  each  of  the  twenty- 
two  classes  sing  in  turn  for  the  entire  school.  As  the  school 
has  no  auditorium,  the  children  who  are  to  sing  assemble 
in  the  corridor  of  each  floor  on  successive  mornings.  All 
doors  are  open,  and  the  children. in  the  rooms  sit  at  atten- 


The  Courses  of  Stttdy  103 

tion.  Thus  they  learn  to  be  appreciative  listeners.  Several 
of  the  teachers  contribute  to  the  success  of  the  plan  by  sing- 
ing in  their  turn  for  the  entertainment  of  the  pupils. 


IO.     ART   AND   CONSTRUCTION       . 

Need  for  More  Supervision 

At  the  time  of  the  survey  the  art  work  in  the  grammar 
grades  was  suffering  from  lack  of  supervision,  and  appar- 
ently but  little  was  being  done.  Those  of  the  grade  teachers 
who  had  some  special  talent  for  the  work  were  able  unaided 
to  keep  up  their  interest  and  secure  results,  but  the  majority 
of  the  teachers  were  in  need  of  the  constant  inspiration, 
help,  and  suggestion  which  a  competent  supervisor  could 
give.  The  course  of  study  appears,  in  the  main,  to  be  in  line 
with  the  best  thought  on  the  subject,  but  to  a  teacher  who 
has  not  had  excellent  art  training  it  would  seem  too  indefi- 
nite to  serve  as  a  sufficient  guide.  There  are  few  grade 
teachers  who  can  do  creditable  work  in  this  department 
without  the  advantage  of  frequent  supervision,  no  matter 
how  minutely  the  course  is  laid  out  for  them. 

It  is  hard  to  understand  how  the  small  financial  saving 
brought  about  by  relegating  the  supervisor  of  art  work  to  a 
part-time  assignment  in  one  of  the  high  schools  can  be  con- 
sidered, by  any  one  conversant  with  the  principles  of  good 
school  management,  as  a  justifiable  piece  of  economy.  As 
matters  now  stand,  the  art  and  construction  work  is  planned 
and  supervised  in  the  primary  grades,  while  between  these 
grades  and  the  high  school  there  is  a  wide  gap  where  the 
work  appears  to  be  deteriorating  by  reason  of  lack  of  expert 
guidance.  Other  cities  as  large  as  Salt  Lake  City  employ  a 
supervisor  and  one  or  more  assistants.  The  unfortunate 
effects  of  neglect  in  this  department  should  be  remedied 
without  delay.  There  should  be  a  supervisor  in  charge  of 
the  department  of  art  instruction,  and  the  director  of  art 


iO4          School  Organization  and  Administration 

and  construction  in  primary  grades  should  be  an  assistant 
in  the  department.  Responsibility  should  not  be  divided.  If 
such  severe  economy  as  has  been  practiced  in  this  instance 
had  been  really  necessary,  a  less  harmful  plan  to  bring  it 
about  would  have  been  to  retain  the  supervisor  in  the  field 
and  divide  the  primary  work  between  the  art  supervisor  and 
the  primary  supervisor,  the  latter  taking  the  work  in  con- 
struction. This,  however,  is  not  advocated.  Salt  Lake  City 
should  employ  a  supervisor  in  this  department  and  at  least 
one  assistant,  if  it  is  desired  to  keep  the  art  work  of  the 
schools  abreast  of  the  times.  As  much  supervision  of  art 
as  this  is  found  in  cities  no  larger  than  Salt  Lake  City, 
and  in  some  of  these  special  teachers  are  employed  in  addi- 
tion to  teach  drawing  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades. 

The  Art  and  Handwork  Outlines 

The  designs  used  as  plates  in  the  special  course  of  study 
in  art  and  handwork  for  primary  grades  have  elements  that 
are  too  scattered,  with  a  very  poor  relation  of  the  several 
parts  and  proportions.  The  design  shapes  are  clumsy  and 
uninteresting,  and  have  little  or  no  relation  to  the  objects 
which  they  are  supposed  to  decorate.  Free  paper  cutting  is 
almost  entirely  ignored.  This  activity  is  most  valuable  to 
pupils  in  acquiring  ability  to  represent  form  and  general 
proportions.  It  should  be  used  frequently  with  young  chil- 
dren as  a  means  of  free  expression.  The  drawings  printed 
in  the  course  of  study  are  very  weak.  The  lettering  is  poor, 
and  the  arrangement  uninteresting.  Every  plate  reproduced 
in  any  course  of  art  instruction  should  be  a  model  in  itself 
of  good  drawing,  proper  arrangement,  adequate  spacing, 
and  well-proportioned  lettering.  However,  the  photographs 
accompanying  later  circulars  show  articles  in  considerable 
variety,  and  these  are  well  proportioned.  It  is  fair  to  as- 
sume theref  ore»that  the  next  edition  of  the  course  in  primary 
art  and  handwork  will  be  comparatively  free  from  the  faults 
just  noted. 


The  Courses  of  Study  105 


Drawing  in  the  Lower  Grades 

The  illustrative  drawing  in  the  primary  grades  should 
have  a  closer  relation  to  primary-grade  reading  and  dra- 
matics, and  should  occupy  more  of  the  time  allowed  for 
drawing.  Too  much  of  the  primary  construction  work  is 
imitative,  or  else  is  done  entirely  from  dictation.  In  the 
kindergarten,  initiative  is  encouraged  and  the  imagination 
given  scope.  Seeing  only  the  printed  course  of  study  in 
art  and  handwork,  one  would  infer  that  all  this  comes  to  an 
abrupt  end  in  the  first  grade.  The  art  supervisor  in  these 
grades  should  be  in  closer  touch  with  the  primary  supervisor, 
so  as  to  utilize  stories  and  games  for  illustrative  purposes. 
The  outlines  in  construction  for  grades  one  to  four,  fur- 
nished in  typewritten  form  by  the  supervisor,  presumably 
for  inclusion  in  a  revision  of  the  present  printed  course, 
meet  this  requirement.  They  are  sensible,  well  arranged, 
and  adapted  to  supplement  and  illustrate  school  activities. 


Modeling 

Nearly  all  branches  of  modeling  seem  to  be  emphasized 
in  each  grade.  We  suggest  that  it  would  be  better  to  em- 
phasize low  relief  in  certain  grades,  high  relief  in  certain 
grades,  modeling  in  the  round  in  certain  grades,  and  pottery 
in  certain  grades. 

Modeling  in  clay  is  hardly  adapted  for  execution  in  the 
ordinary  classroom  with  its  sloping  desks.  Casting  in  plas- 
ter of  Paris  should  always  be  clone  in  a  separate  room 
adapted  to  the  purpose.  The  manual-training  shops  in  most 
schools  are  without  classes  some  portion  of  each  week. 
They  might  well  be  utilized  for  clay  and  plaster  work.  It 
would  save  much  labor  and  conserve  the  time  of  teachers 
and  pupils  if  the  material  for  this  work  were  kept  and 
used  in  one  place,  instead  of  having  to  be  distributed  in 
small  lots  to  the  different  rooms  of  a  building.  Some  of 


io6          School  Organization  and  Administration 

the  manual-training  rooms  are  large  enough  to  afford  space 
for  modeling,  even  while  other  work  is  in  progress. 

Other  Constructional  Activities 

The  work  of  bookbinding  in  the  fifth  grade  is  not  made 
to  serve  a  real  end.  Only  the  boys  of  a  class  now  take  this 
work,  and  since  the  portfolios  that  are  made  would  serve 
but  half  the  class,  they  are  not  used.  These  projects  should 
serve  the  admirable  purpose  of  giving  concrete  application 
to  the  otherwise  abstract  principle  of  design,  by  providing 
objects  of  real  use  which  lend  themselves  to  decoration. 

There  appears  to  be  no  connection  between  sewing  and 
art.  The  principle  of  correlation,  so  well  worked  out  in 
the  academic  part  of  the  course  of  study,  should  find  its 
most  effective  application  in  art  and  handwork  both  for 
girls  and  boys.  The  subject  of  design  is  not  developed  in 
a  progressive  manner  from  grade  to  grade,  as  it  might 
easily  be  if  manual  training,  sewing,  and  art  were  included 
in  the  scheme  of  correlation. 


II.     MANUAL   TRAINING 

A  Poor  Course  of  Study 

The  shop  work  is  limited  to  wood-working  processes  of 
a  single  type  —  cabinet  making  —  and  the  related  drawing 
is  extremely  limited  in  scope.  The  course  lacks  justification 
from  the  standpoint  of  application  in  local  industries,  as 
well  as  on  the  score  of  educational  value.  The  content  of 
the  course  is  extremely  limited,  considering  the  time  given 
to  the  subject,  and  some  of  the  work,  for  example  lettering, 
comes  far  too  early  in  the  course.  Working  drawings  are 
not,  as  a  rule,  taught  with  any  degree  of  profit  to  grades 
below  the  eighth,  yet  a  greater  emphasis  is  placed  on  work- 
ing drawings  in  the  earlier  part  qf  this  course  than  in  the 


The  Courses  of  Study  107 

later  part;  the  fifth  grade  having  291/3  hours,  the  sixth 
21 1/3  hours,  and  the  seventh  17^/3  hours  given  to  such  work. 
Time  spent  on  working  drawings  below  the  eighth  grade 
is  time  practically  wasted.  The  child  does  not  get  his  work- 
ing facts  from  the  drawing,  but  depends  upon  the  teacher. 
To  understand  the  conventional  procedure  usual  in  making 
clear  working  drawings,  greater  maturity  is  required  than 
the  fifth,  sixth,  or  seventh-grade  pupil  has  attained.  The 
place  for  drawings  for  children  of  these  ages  is  in  connec- 
tion with  design,  which  this  course  wholly  lacks.  The  uni- 
formity in  the  work  throughout  the  city,  observed  by  the 
members  of  the  survey,  indicates  that  there  is  no  attempt  at 
adjustment  to  individuals  or  groups. 

Work  Needs  Enlarging 

In  the  selection  of  projects  one  interest  only  seems  to 
have  been  in  mind,  that  of  supplying  needs  for  the  home, 
and  the  same  objects  are  made  by  all  boys  till  the  eighth 
grade  is  reached,  when  some  little  choice  is  allowed.  It  can 
hardly  be  assumed  that  all  homes  have  the  same  needs.  Ad- 
ditional interests  should  be  drawn  upon,  such  as  sports,  in- 
dustrial studies,  and  trade  activities.  Printing,  the  study 
of  home  carpentry,  the  making  of  playground  apparatus 
and  simple  laboratory  equipment,  readily  suggest  them- 
selves. As  the  course  stands,  little  initiative  is  possible  for 
teacher  or  pupil.  The  work  as  planned  is  stereotyped,  and 
seems  to  have  only  a  disciplinary  aim.  One  material,  wood, 
is  involved  throughout  the  entire  course,  and  the  kinds  of 
this  are  limited.  The  most  common  uses  of  wood  seem  to 
be  ignored.  The  shop  processes  connected  with  "  squaring 
off "  are  continually  emphasized,  for  four  years.  The 
printed  steps  are  not  correct  as  to  teaching-practice  or  shop- 
practice.  It  seems  unfortunate  that  this  particular  process 
should  be  given  such  prominence. 


io8          School  Organization  and  Administration 

Suggestions  for  Improvement 

The  fifth  and  sixth  grades  would  get  more  out  of  con- 
struction work  if  they  should  make  a  study  of  machines 
used  in  the  mining  industry  on  a  working-model  basis,  in- 
troducing thin  sheet  metal,  wire  cloth,  soft  metals,  and 
cement,  in  addition  to  wood.  The  making  of  foundry 
flasks  and  tools,  and  the  casting  of  objects  in  soft  metal, 
would  be  appropriate  projects.  The  study  of  transporta- 
tion, involving  the  making  of  models  of  railroad  tracks, 
switches,  hoists,  etc.,  would  furnish  occasions  for  the  exer- 
cise of  ingenuity.  Bridge  construction  is  also  appropriate 
work.  It  is  clearly  suggested  by  the  trestle  over  Salt 
Lake. 

In  grades  seven  and  eight  more  advanced  work  in  metal 
as  well  as  in  wood  is  appropriate.  It  should  be  in  part  ap- 
plied art,  as  hammered  copper  or  brass,  and  in  part  along 
the  line  of  applications  of  mechanics. 

The  supervisor  of  manual  training  and  the  supervisor  of 
art  should  cooperate  in  making  out  the  course  of  study  in 
these  two  phases  of  school  work.  These  courses  should  be 
closely  related.  The  art  department  should  cooperate  in 
working  out  designs  in  manual  training.  It  needs  this  mo- 
tive to  keep  the  principle  of  design  from  being  abstract,  and 
in  his  manual  work  the  pupil  needs  to  have  his  attention 
directed  toward  attractiveness  of  form  and  appropriate  dec- 
oration. Manual  training  as  now  conducted  in  Salt  Lake 
City  causes  boys  to  resort  to  furniture  catalogues  for  de- 
signs instead  of  working  out  their  own  ideas  of  form.  They 
have  no  confidence  in  their  ability  to  work  out  appropriate 
designs.  Their  training  tends  to  make  them  mere  copyists. 
It  is  highly  important  that  the  emphasis  placed  upon  design 
in  the  course  in  art  should  have  an  outlet  in  the  manual- 
training  activities. 

There  is  little  to  commend  in  the  scheme  of  manual  train- 
ing now  in  vogue  in  the  Salt  Lake  City  schools.  It  should 
be  radically  reorganized. 


The  Courses  of  Study  109 

12.     DOMESTIC   ARTS   AND   SCIENCE 

A  commendable  feature  of  the  work  seen  in  this  subject 
was  the  effort  to  adapt  the  instruction  to  the  home  needs  of 
the  children  attending  the  different  schools.  The  same 
course  of  study  was  not  followed  in  all  of  the  schools,  nor 
were  the  grades  in  which  the  instruction  was  given  the  same. 
The  teachers  of  the  subject  seemed  to  be  making  an  earnest 
effort  to  adapt  the  work  to  the  needs  of  the  children.  This 
is  a  desirable  feature,  and  should  be  continued.  It  was  the 
feeling  of  the  survey  staff  that  much  more  could  be  done  in 
this  line  than  has  so  far  been  done. 

There  are  too  few  properly  equipped  centers  for  this  work 
in  the  schools  of  the  city,  and  enough  is  not  made  of  it,  and 
in  one  of  the  high  schools  no  opportunity  is  provided  for 
girls  who  wish  to  continue  this  important  study. 

13.     PHYSICAL   TRAINING 

This  is  considered  at  some  length  as  a  part  of  the  health 
work  of  the  schools,  and  the  reader  is  referred  to  Chapter 
XII  for  a  detailed  consideration  of  the  work  in  this  subject 
of  instruction. 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE    INSTRUCTION    AND    SUPERVISION    AS 
SEEN:    DESIRABLE    EXTENSIONS 

I.    THE  INSTRUCTION  AND  SUPERVISION  As  SEEN 

THE   QUALITY   OF   INSTRUCTION 

ENOUGH  has  already  been  said  to  indicate  that  the 
members  of  the  survey  staff  were  favorably  impressed 
by  the  teaching  observed  in  the  classrooms  of  the  city.  We 
found  the  work  in  general  on  a  fairly  high  plane.  The  neces- 
sity of  utilizing  each  year  the  services  of  so  many  young 
teachers,  just  out  of  the  normal  school,  makes  for  a  lower 
average  level  of  instruction  than  is  best  for  the  system,  but 
this  tendency,  so  far  as  the  common  branches  are  concerned, 
is  offset  in  large  measure  by  the  employment  of  expert 
supervisors  in  grammar  and  primary  grades  who  supple- 
ment the  weaknesses  of  the  young  teachers  and,  in  time, 
bring  them  out  as  worthy  members  of  the  teaching  force. 
The  normal  school  sends  them  into  the  service  with  the 
right  attitude  toward  the  work,  and  this  is  one  absolutely 
indispensable  factor  in  their  training.  Thus  they  are  pre- 
pared to  accept,  in  the  best  possible  spirit,  the  training  in 
service  which  continues  through  the  early  years  of  their  em- 
ployment. Without  expert  guidance  from  grade  super- 
visors Salt  Lake  City's  method  of  recruiting  its  teaching 
force  would  be  fatal  to  progress;  but  the  weaknesses  in- 
herent in  the  plan  of  recruiting  the  force  exclusively  from 
the  home  product,  and  at  low  salaries,  is  offset  in  such 
measure  by  the  systematic  after-training  which  the  system 
affords  that  better  results  are  secured  than  might  reasonably 


The  Instruction  and  Supervision  as  Seen        in 

be  expected.  Much  of  the  work  done  by  the  more  experi- 
enced teachers  is  superior  in  quality.  Some  mediocre  work 
was  seen,  and  some  that  would  be  called  poor,  but  the 
greater  part  of  the  teaching  must  in  fairness  be  classed  as 
good. 

One  important  aid  which  the  teachers  have  is  the  free- 
textbook  system  maintained  by  the  city,  and  the  freedom 
which  the  city  enjoys  in  the  selection  of  the  books  to  be  used. 
Fortunately,  the  State  of  Utah  has  had  the  good  sense  to 
exempt  the  city  from  following  the  uniform  series  of  text- 
books adopted  for  its  district  schools,  and  the  city  has  made 
excellent  use  of  the  exemption.  The  books  supplied  are 
both  varied  in  character  and  excellent  in  quality. 

CLASSWORK   OBSERVED 

It  was  not  possible  in  the  time  available  to  observe  a 
class  exercise  in  every  schoolroom  of  the  city,  but  enough 
work  was  seen  to  afford  a  safe  basis  for  opinion.  Fully 
300  class  exercises  were  observed  by  the  members  of  the 
survey,  —  some  in  full,  and  all  for  a  sufficient  length  of 
time  to  catch  the  method  and  spirit  of  the  work. 

The  attainments  of  the  children  in  reading,  spelling, 
writing,  arithmetic,  and  composition,  as  measured  by  the 
standard  tests  employed,  are  seen,  by  reference  to  the  tables 
and  charts  in  Chapter  VIII,  to  compare  favorably  with 
those  of  children  of  like  grades  in  other  cities  where  the 
same  standards  have  been  applied.  In  visiting  classes,  many 
of  those  in  which  the  tests  had  been  given  received  particu- 
lar attention,  because  it  seemed  desirable  to  know  whether 
the  results  of  the  tests  were  such  as  might  have  been  an- 
ticipated by  a  competent  observer.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  those  members  of  the  survey  who  applied  the  observa- 
tion test  to  these  classes,  till  recently  the  only  test  available, 
were  not  surprised  to  learn,  after  the  tabulations  had  been 
completed,  that  the  nineteen  schools  in  which  the  standard 
tests  were  used  had  made  a  good  showing. 


ii2          School  Organization  and  Administration 


AN    OBSERVED   CHARACTERISTIC 

One  marked  characteristic  of  the  Salt  Lake  City  school 
system  that  impressed  the  members  of  the  survey  in  their 
visits  to  classrooms  was  the  cheerful,  optimistic  tone  of  the 
teachers.  No  burden  seemed  too  great,  no  work  so  hard  as 
to  cause  complaint.  The  fine  professional  attitude  of  the 
teaching  force  deserves  the  highest  commendation.  As 
might  be  expected  this  attitude  is  reflected  in  the  attitude  of 
the  children  toward  the  school.  Repression  was  nowhere 
in  evidence,  nor  was  any  needed.  The  children  were  free 
and  natural  in  their  movements,  yet  there  was  no  disorder. 
Not  a  single  instance  of  cross  word  or  stubborn  manner 
was  noticed  by  any  member  of  the  survey  staff  during  the 
entire  three  weeks  of  their  stay  in  the  city.  Doubtless  cases 
of  discipline  do  arise.  However,  the  records  show  that 
offenses  calling  for  severity  are  of  rare  occurrence. 


PRINCIPALS   AND   THEIR   WORK 

A  principal  is  both  an  administrator  and  a  supervisor.  In 
his  role  as  administrator  he  acts  as  the  responsible  head  of 
his  school  in  all  matters  of  organization  and  management. 
He  represents  the  school  department  in  his  community,  and 
in  proportion  as  he  has  energy  and  discretion  and  an  apti- 
tude for  leadership  he  causes  his  school  and  its  work  to  be 
known  and  appreciated  and  loyally  supported  by  the  people 
of  his  community.  In  the  Salt  Lake  City  school  system  the 
principal's  position  is  one  of  dignity  and  authority.  He  is 
the  head  of  his  school  in  supervision,  as  well  as  in  adminis- 
tration. All  directions  to  teachers  given  by  the  superintend- 
ent or  by  supervisors  acting  for  him  are  given  either  through 
the  principal  or  with  his  full  understanding.  His  range  of 
observation  is  more  limited  than  theirs,  since  his  work  is 
confined  to  a  single  school.  He  needs  to  avail  himself  of 
the  wider  view  of  the  supervisors  who  see  the  entire  field, 


The  Instruction  and  Supervision  as  Seen        113 

in  order  to  make  the  work  of  his  school  harmonize  in  essen- 
tials with  the  general  policy  of  the  administration. 

There  is  a  wide  range  for  variation  within  this  field,  and 
each  principal  is  expected  to  make  definite  contributions 
toward  the  improvement  of  the  service.  He  knows  that  if 
he  wishes  to  try  some  plan  which  he  thinks  will  work  better 
than  the  customary  one  he  will  have  full  liberty  to  make 
trial  of  it,  providing  after  explanation  it  does  not  appear  to 
the  superintendent  to  be  contrary  to  the  general  policy  of  the 
schools.  Not  only  does  the  principal  have  liberty  to  try  new 
things ;  he  is  definitely  encouraged  to  seek  paths  leading 
away  from  the  beaten  track  of  routine,  for  in  this  direction 
lies  growth. 

The  principals'  salary-schedule  puts  a  premium  upon  this 
very  thing  by  basing  increase,  above  a  certain  minimum, 
upon  university  work.  In  consequence  many  of  the  princi- 
pals have  taken  a  college  degree,  some  at  the  agricultural 
college  and  some  at  the  state  university.  They  seemed  to 
the  survey  staff  to  be  well  poised,  self-respecting,  and  ca- 
pable.. It  was  the  general  feeling  among  the  members  that 
they  had  seldom  if  ever  seen  greater  professional  zeal  on 
the  part  of  principals  in  devising  ways  to  improve  their 
schools,  both  in  matters  of  detail  and  in  those  larger  phases 
of  a  school's  life  which  affect  the  life  of  the  community  and 
influence  its  ideals. 


THE  SUPERVISION  OF  WORK  IN  THE  COMMON  BRANCHES 

Under  the  present  system  of  recruiting  the  teaching  force, 
the  good  results  realized  in  the  common  branches  in  the 
Salt  Lake  City  schools  could  not  be  realized  if  the  super- 
vision were  not  systematic  and  intelligent,  for  whatever 
strength  the  work  manifests  must  in  large  part  be  due  to 
the  wise  guidance  which  makes  seasoned  veterans  out  of 
raw  recruits. 

The  efficiency  of  grade  supervision  may  be  shown  in  sev- 


H4          School  Organization  and  Administration 

eral  ways,  —  first,  of  course,  in  results ;  second,  in  helpful 
professional  relations  which  the  supervisors  establish  in 
their  contact  with  the  teachers  in  the  schoolrooms  of  the 
city ;  and,  third,  by  the  suggestions  and  directions  they  give 
to  the  teachers  by  means  of  detailed  outlines,  and  orally  in 
the  teachers'  meetings. 

As  shown  by  standard  tests  and  verified  by  observation 
of  regular  class  work,  the  results  are  good.  In  judging 
whether  helpful  relations  had  been  established,  members  of 
the  survey  staff  accompanied  the  grade  supervisors  in  cer- 
tain of  their  visits,  for  the  purpose  of  actually  seeing  how 
they  did  the  part  of  their  work  which  brings  them  into  con- 
tact with  teachers  and  children  in  the  schoolrooms.  Two 
half  days  were  spent  in  this  way  with  the  supervisor  of 
grammar  grades,  and  one  with  the  supervisor  of  primary 
grades.  Both  supervisors  appear  to  be  well  equipped  in  per- 
sonality, education,  and  professional  skill,  and  it  is  the 
opinion  of  the  survey  staff  that  they  have  the  right  point  of 
view  of  their  function  in  the  system.  This  is  that  they  are 
in  the  service  for  the  purpose  not  simply  of  inspecting  the 
work  of  others,  though,  of  course,  this  is  a  part  of  their 
duty,  but  for  the  larger  purpose  of  helping  the  teachers  to 
teach  well.  To  this  end  they  make  plain  the  meaning  of  the 
necessarily  limited  statements  in  the  course  of  study,  and 
are  always  ready  to  illustrate  the  proper  method  of  proced- 
ure by  actual  teaching.  This  is  often  the  surest  way  of 
getting  any  procedure  understood.  Any  one  who  has  had 
experience  in  sending  out  written  instructions  cannot  fail 
to  realize  the  utter  impossibility  of  so  wording  a  statement, 
involving  many  particulars,  that  all  to  whom  it  is  addressed 
will  interpret  it  in  the  same  way.  Especially  is  it  true  that 
comparatively  inexperienced  teachers,  of  whom  there  are 
so  many  in  the  Salt  Lake  City  schools,  need  the  illustration 
which  the  supervisor  stands  ready  to  give. 


The  Instruction  and  Supervision  as  Seen        115 


PROMOTION    OF   PUPILS 

The  system  in  use  for  promotion  to  the  high  schools, 
depending  in  part,  as  it  does,  upon  the  records  made  by  chil- 
dren in  formal  examination,  makes  testing  an  exceedingly 
important  part  of  the  supervisors'  duty.  In  any  promotion 
system  involving  set  examinations  the  danger  is  that  the 
examination  will  loom  large  in  the  minds  of  children  and 
teachers,  and  that  chief  attention  will  be  centered  upon  the 
more  formal  portions  of  the  work.  Even  though  examina- 
tion results  count  only  one-third,  the  members  of  the  survey 
are  not  in  favor  of  this  phase  of  Salt  Lake  City's  promotion 
scheme.  They  believe  in  examinations,  both  oral  and  writ- 
ten, as  teaching  exercises,  but  not  as  tests  of  fitness  for  pro- 
motion. The  inevitable  tendency  of  such  examinations  is 
to  narrow  instruction. 

Nevertheless,  since  examination  for  promotion  is  a  fea- 
ture of  the  system,  it  is  important  to  note  whether  the  ex- 
aminations which  are  set  tend  toward  formality  and  a  nar- 
row interpretation  of  the  course  of  study,  or  whether,  as 
far  as  may  be,  they  have  the  opposite  tendency.  The 
samples  in  language  and  arithmetic  which  follow  show  the 
character  of  the  examinations  which  the  grade  supervisors 
set.  It  will  readily  be  admitted  that  they  are  excellent 
samples  of  their  kind.  They  would  be  extremely  useful  as 
teaching  exercises.  If  examinations  are  to  be  employed  as 
elements  in  the  promotion  of  pupils  from  grade  to  grade, 
those  of  the  type  used  in  the  Salt  Lake  City  schools  are  as 
free  from  objection  as  any  that  could  be  devised. 


TYPES   OF   EXAMINATION    TESTS    USED 

To  show  the  type  of  examinations  given  by  the  super- 
visors, and  the  mental  qualities  they  are  designed  to  test, 
we  reproduce  a  few  typical  examination  papers  from  the 
collection  supplied  us  while  at  work  in  Salt  Lake  City. 


n6          School  Organization  and  Administration 

I.    LANGUAGE.    REPRODUCTION 
A  Class,  Third  Grade 

Thursday,  P.  M.,  January  22nd,  after  test  paper  and  all  necessary  material 
have  been  furnished  the  pupils,  read  or  tell,  slowly,  very  deliberately,  —  in 
order  that  the  children  may  be  able  to  get  the  mental  pictures,  —  ONCE  only, 
the  story  which  follows. 

Suggest  three  or  four  titles  and  allow  each  child  to  select  his  own. 

One  very  hot  day  a  little  boy  was  lying  on  his  stomach  under  a  big  tree, 
reading  a  story. 

"Little  boy,"  said  his  mother,  "will  you  please  go  into  the  garden  and  bring 
me  a  head  of  lettuce?  " 

"O,  I  —  can't!"  said  the  little  boy,  "I  am  too  hot!" 

The  little  boy's  father  happened  to  be  close  by,  weeding  the  flower  bed, 
and  when  he  heard  this  he  lifted  the  little  boy  gently  by  the  waistband,  and 
dipped  him  into  the  great  tub  of  cold  water  that  stood  ready  for  watering  the 
plants. 

"There,  my  son,  now  you  are  cool  enough  to  go  and  get  the  lettuce  for  your 
mother,  and  the  next  tune  she  asks  you  to  do  something  for  her  you  may  not 
feel  so  hot." 

Note  how  readily  this  would  lend  itself  to  reproduction 
with  the  picture  idea  in  the  child's  mind. 

II.    GEOGRAPHY 
B  Class,  Third  Grade 

1.  Where  do  the  dairy  farmers  of  Salt  Lake  Valley  have  their  hay  farms? 

2.  Why  must  a  dairy  farm  be  near  a  community  center  or  near  a  railroad 
station? 

3.  Why  must  milk  be  kept  very,  very  clean? 

4.  When  the  milker  begins  his  work,  what  does  he  do?    Why? 

5.  Just  as  soon  as  he  finishes  milking  a  cow,  what  does  he  do?    Why? 

6.  Why  does  each  cow  have  a  report  card?    Is  her  name  on  the  card? 

7.  How  do  they  get  the  milk  from  the  dairy  farms  to  the  cities? 

8.  Why  is  all  milk  bottled  now? 

9.  Name  the  Utah  counties  that  rank  high  in  dairy  products. 

10.  What  dairy  product  is  Utah  turning  out  in  larger  and  larger  quantities 
each  year? 

III.    GRAMMAR 

GROUP  I  Final  Examination  —  Eighth  B  Class 

i.  Illustrate:  (a)  A  phrase  as  subject  of  the  sentence;  (b)  A  clause  as  ob- 
ject of  a  preposition;  (c)  A  coordinate  clause;  (d)  A  phrase  modifying 
a  noun  used  as  subjective  complement. 


The  Instruction  and  Supervision  as  Seen        117 

2.  Choose  the  proper  word  and  fill  in  the  blanks  of  the  following  sentences; 

also  give  reasons  for  your  choice: 

(a)  Not  one  of  the  boys  (was,  were) there. 

(b)  The  book  (lay,  laid) on  the  table  yesterday. 

(c)  Deal  (gentle,  gently) with  them. 

(d)  For  you  and  (me,  I) there  are  many  opportunities. 

(e)  (Has,  have) either  of  you  girls  an  extra  pencil? 

3.  Diagram  the  following  sentence: 

At  the  back  of  Mount  Tipanogas,  not  fifty  miles  away,  is  a  glacier  exhibiting 
all  the  characteristics  of  ice  streams. 

4.  Use  each  of  the  following  words  first  as  a  noun,  then  as  an  adjective,  then 
as  a  verb:  blind,  sound,  spring. 

5.  Classify  (a)  words,  (b)  sentences,  (c)  phrases,  according  to  use. 

GROUP  n 

6.  Write  the  plural  form  of  the  following  words:  tooth,  Mary,  Miss  Clark, 
German,  baby,  journey,  chief,  wolf,  father-in-law,  hero. 

7.  Give  the  principal  parts  of  the  following  verbs:  go,  sit,  lie,  dig,  set,  see, 
do,  eat,  come,  lay. 

8.  Account  for  the  case  form  of  the  capitalized  pronouns  in  the  following 
sentences: 

(a)  WE  girls  are  going  on  an  excursion. 

(b)  Did  you  see  Mary  and  ME  at  the  theater? 

(c)  Neither  speaker  had  prepared  HIS  speech. 

(d)  I  am  in  a  higher  class  than  SHE. 

(e)  The  money  belongs  to  US  four  boys. 

9.  Write  a  sentence  containing  two  subordinate  clauses,  one  performing  the 
office  of  an  adjective  and  the  other  the  office  of  an  adverb. 

10.  Explain  and  illustrate  the  difference  in  meaning  between  the  following 
words:  At  and  in,  between  and  among,  beside  and  besides,  by  and  with,  in  and 
into. 

Note  that  children  compose  in  answering  these  questions. 
They  are  not  analyzing  the  sentences  of  others. 

IV.    AMI-EMETIC 
GROUP  X  Eighth  A  and  B  Classes 

1.  Solve:  S4i  +  ^J  +  ^f  +  8f  +  13*. 

2.  Divide  40$  by  2if. 

3.  Multiply  .045  by  40.4  and  divide  the  product  by  6.45. 

4.  Simplify:  |  of  |». 

fofif 

5.  Multiply  1,786,905!  by  78}. 


n8          School  Organization  and  Administration 

GROUP  n 

1.  How  many  square  feet  in  the  walls,  floor,  and  ceiling  of  a  room  16  feet 
6  inches  long,  by  12  feet  4  inches  wide,  by  9  feet  6  inches  high? 

2.  A  farmer  bought  80  sheep  for  $500.   He  sold  45  per  cent,  of  them  at  $8.00 
apiece,  and  the  remainder  at  $7.50  apiece.    Find  his  per  cent,  of  gain. 

3-  At  3}^  per  cent,  commission,  what  were  the  earnings  in  one  week  of  an 
agent  who  sold  property  as  follows:  $6,875,  $5>4°°,  $11,400,  and  $8,725? 

4.  A  steamboat  makes  a  trip  of  148.75  miles  in  9.4  hours.    Find  the  speed  per 
hour.    (Give  the  answer  to  the  nearest  hundredths.) 

5.  $75.50  was  paid  for  oats  at  45  cents  a  bushel.    Find  the  total  weight, 
reckoning  32  pounds  to  a  bushel. 

Note  the  separate  grouping  of  problems  by  means  of 
which  a  comparison  may  be  made  between  a  pupil's  ability 
in  fundamentals  and  in  reasoning. 


THE   QUALITY   OF  THE   GRADE   SUPERVISION 

Sets  of  circulars  or  bulletins  issued  by  the  grade  super- 
visors, as  interpretations  of  the  course  of  study,  have  been 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  members  of  the  survey. 

The  outlines  in  third-grade  geography,  issued  in  bulletin 
form  by  the  primary  supervisor,  have  already  been  com- 
mented on  as  models  of  their  kind.  A  grammar-grade  bul- 
letin on  arithmetic  has  been  quoted  in  connection  with  the 
discussion  of  that  subject.  In  a  bulletin  on  hygiene,  issued 
by  the  grammar-grade  supervisor,  an  excellent  way  is 
pointed  out  to  secure  the  observance  by  the  pupils  of  hy- 
gienic rules :  "  Habit  formation  should  constitute  a  chief 
part  of  the  educational  training  in  hygiene.  The  pupils  will 
be  rated  on  the  quality  of  their  class  work  and  their  daily 
physical  habits."  In  another  bulletin  the  following  sound 
characterization  of  the  use  of  grammar  is  given  for  the 
benefit  of  principals  and  teachers  of  seventh  and  eighth 
grades : 

"The  teaching  of  grammar  must  be  justified  by  the  educational  results  that 
are  immediate,  rather  than  those  remote.  These  results  should  be:  (a)  clearer 
thinking,  (b)  increased  ability  to  judge  the  quality  of  language,  (c)  increased 
power  to  interpret  language. 


The  Instruction  and  Supervision  as  Seen        119 

"It  is  better  to  select  a  few  topics  in  grammar  and  to  teach  them  well  than 
endeavor  to  teach  too  many  topics.  Whenever  the  facts  and  principles  being 
studied  have  no  concrete  meaning  to  the  child,  they  are  not  serving  the  edu- 
cational purpose  intended.  Verbal  memory  has  little  place  hi  the  teaching  of 
this  subject.  Classifications  and  definitions  should  follow  concrete  knowledge 
of  many  individual  words  or  expressions,  and  not  precede  this  knowledge.  In 
other  words,  they  should  grow  out  of  the  child's  fund  of  information  and  his 
powers  of  comparison." 

Good  points  about  the  bulletins  are : 

1.  Flexibility  —  the  supervisor  realizes  that  conditions 
determine  the  remedies  to  be  applied. 

2.  Definiteness  of  directions. 

3.  The  ultimate  end  is  never  lost  sight  of.    The  various 
means  suggested  are  always  practical.     They  reflect  super- 
visors who  have  studied  the  results  of  the  teachers'  work, 
and  who  possess  readiness  and  resourcefulness  in  suggest- 
ing remedies  for  difficulties. 

4.  The    insistence    upon    thoroughness,    upon    student 
power,  not  alone  a  mastery  of  facts,  as  an  ultimate  test  of 
teaching  is  constantly  emphasized. 

5.  The  human  element  in  the  directions  should  tend  to 
make  the  teachers  sympathetic  and  stimulating. 

6.  The  relation  of  subject  to  subject  is  well  brought 
out,  indicating  supervisors  who  see  all  of  the  subjects  as 
parts  of  a  plan  to  develop  a  single  consistent  purpose. 


II.    DESIRABLE  EXTENSIONS 

THE   JUNIOR    HIGH    SCHOOL 

The  plan  now  well  under  way  in  Salt  Lake  City,  by  which 
grades  seven,  eight,  and  nine  are  organized  departmentally 
as  the  junior  high  school,  is  in  line  with  progressive  prac- 
tice elsewhere.  Already  sixty-eight  cities  have  such  organi- 
zations, and  many  more  are  contemplating  this  feature. 
These  organizations  differ  as  to  the  grades  included,  whether 
two  or  three ;  as  to  housing,  whether  in  a  separate  building, 


I2O          School  Organization  and  Administration 

or  with  lower  grades,  or  high  school  proper ;  and  again  as 
to  the  subjects  included  in  the  course  of  study.  Some  com- 
mon characteristics  appear.  After  the  sixth  grade,  pupils 
are  allowed  some  choice  among  studies,  they  anticipate  some 
of  the  work  of  the  high  school  proper,  and  they  are  taught 
on  the  departmental  plan. 

THE   PLAN   AS    YET   IMPERFECTLY   DEVELOPED 

In  Salt  Lake  City  the  organization  calls  ultimately  for 
three  grades,  the  seventh  and  the  eighth,  and,  as  pupils  of 
the  two  grades  below  accomplish  work  which  calls  for  high- 
school  credits,  the  ninth.  A  good  beginning  has  been  made, 
and  the  plan  merits  full  development.  It  seemed  to  the 
survey  staff,  however,  that  instead  of  scattering  the  units 
of  the  organization  throughout  the  city  it  would  be  far 
better,  both  financially  and  educationally,  to  bring  the  pupils 
of  junior  high-school  grades  together  in  larger  numbers. 
Since  the  schools  throughout  the  city  are  now  so  crowded 
that  rooms  not  intended  for  school  use  are  being  utilized  as 
classrooms,  it  is  evident  that  new  buildings  must  be  erected 
to  relieve  the  congestion.  The  needed  relief  should  be  pro- 
vided by  erecting  four  or  five  new  buildings  expressly  for 
the  junior  high  school  work,  leaving  existing  buildings  for 
the  use  of  grades  one  to  six.  This  would  make  better  grad- 
ing possible  and  would  provide  larger  classes,  thus  reduc- 
ing the  per  capita  cost  of  instruction.  It  would  also  remove 
two  grades,  the  seventh  and  eighth,  from  all  existing  build- 
ings, in  itself  a  gain  of  no  small  importance. 

The  work  cannot  be  properly  developed  in  so  many  small 
and  scattered  centers.  Not  enough  differentiation  can  be 
arranged  to  meet  the  varying  needs  of  the  children.  At 
present  the  prevocational  needs  of  the  children  of  Salt  Lake 
City  are  not  sufficiently  provided  for.  A  choice  of  German, 
Latin,  or  French  is  open  to  pupils,  and  in  one  center  the 
arithmetic  of  the  eighth  grade  has  a  commercial  trend;  but 
there  is  little  provision  for  those  .non-literary  pupils  who, 


The  Instruction  and  Supervision  as  Seen        121 

though  not  defective  in  intellect,  are  not  sufficiently  apt  in 
dealing  with  symbols  to  get  their  education  chiefly  from 
books.  Not  only  for  these,  but  also  for  another  group  of 
boys  and  girls,  normal  in  every  respect  but  who  will  inevi- 
tably leave  school  at  an  early  age,  courses  should  be  offered 
which  give  definite  industrial  training.  The  work  in  such 
courses  should  differ  from  that  in  the  ordinary  manual- 
training  classes  for  boys,  and  classes  in  cooking  and  sewing 
for  girls,  in  the  greater  variety  of  materials  dealt  with,  in 
the  increased  time  devoted  to  practical  work,  and  in  the 
approach  to  the  academic  work  through  the  industrial  pro- 
jects of  the  shop  and  home.  Ten  hours  per  week  is  not  too 
much  time  to  devote  to  this  work.  The  courses  should  pro- 
vide real  vocational  experience,  with  materials  and  processes 
as  extensive  as  the  leading  occupations  followed  in  the  city 
and  state.  Through  such  experience  the  boys  and  girls  can 
form  some  notion  of  what  they  are  fitted  to  do  for  a 
livelihood. 

TYPES   OF   COURSES    NEEDED 

The  junior  high  school  scheme,  when  fully  developed, 
should  provide  at  least  four  courses  at  each  center.  One, 
strongly  academic,  has  now  been  well  worked  out.  An- 
other, tending  toward  the  commercial,  has  been  begun.  An- 
other in  practical  arts  for  boys  is  needed,  and  still  another 
in  practical  arts  for  girls.  Both  of  these  should  include 
agriculture  as  an  optional  subject.  It  should  be  possible 
for  a  boy  or  girl  who  has  taken  any  one  of  the  courses  to 
enter  the  senior  high  school,  if  circumstances  are  such  as  to 
make  a  longer  period  of  schooling  possible. 

As  has  already  been  said,  this  variety  of  opportunity  can- 
not be  offered  in  scattered  centers.  Four  or  five  buildings, 
with  ample  shop  and  laboratory  facilities,  are  needed.  Each 
should  be  conveniently  located  to  receive  pupils  from  sev- 
eral six-grade  schools.  On  the  basis  of  the  present  enroll- 
ment, four  schools,  each  with  a  capacity  for  950  pupils, 
would  accommodate  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth  grades 


122          School  Organization  and  Administration 

of  the  entire  city.    For  the  present,  one  of  these  would  as 
now  be  the  new  high-school  building. 

In  the  year  1914-15  there  were  1,616  pupils  enrolled  in 
the  seventh  grade,  1,243  in  the  eighth,  and  856  in  the  ninth. 
The  falling  off  in  attendance  in  the  eighth  grade  was  23 
per  cent. ;  in  the  ninth  it  was  47  per  cent.  It  may  be  confi- 
dently expected  that  after  the  junior  high  school  plan  has 
been  fully  developed,  with  differentiated  courses  of  study 
and  in  buildings  of  suitable  plan  and  equipment,  this  heavy 
mortality  at  the  end  of  the  eighth  grade  will  be  greatly  re- 
duced, and  a  fifth  school  would  be  needed.  It  ought  to 
be  the  purpose  of  every  city  to  carry  as  many  pupils  as  pos- 
sible through  a  six-year  elementary  and  some  one  of  the 
three-year  junior  high-school  courses.  Normally  these 
would  be  completed  by  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  year,  or  at 
the  end  of  the  compulsory  school  period.  That  Salt  Lake 
City  fails  to  accomplish  such  a  purpose  now  may  be  seen 
by  an  inspection  of  Figures  13  and  14,  which  show  the  ages 
and  grades  of  the  pupils  at  present  in  the  schools. 

VOCATIONAL   TRAINING 

Approximately  1,600  children  leave  school  each  year  in 
various  grades  after  the  sixth,  800  boys  and  800  girls.  It 
is  important  to  know  what  preparation  they  have  had  for 
the  practical  duties  that  await  them.  The  exact  loss  by 
grades,  computed  from  the  age-grade  distribution  sheet,  is : 

Grade  VI     to  VII 215 

Grade  VII    to  VIII 253 

Grade  VIII  to  IX     552 

Grade  IX     to  X       312 

Grade  X      to  XI     145 

Grade  XI     to  XII 117 

Total       1,594 

Approximately  two-thirds  of  those  leaving  are  from 
grades  below  the  ninth,  and  eighty-four  per  cent,  of  them 


The  Instruction  and  Supervision  as  Seen        123 

are  from  grades  below  the  senior  high  school.  Vocational 
preparation  is  seen  therefore  to  be  chiefly  a  problem  for  the 
junior  high  school  and  the  grades  immediately  below  it. 

Vocational  training  in  any  city  must  have  reference  to  the 
opportunities  for  employment  which  the  city  affords,  for  it 
is  safe  to  assume  that  the  majority  of  the  boys  and  girls  now 
in  the  schools  will  find  their  place  in  the  life  of  the  local  com- 
munity. We  cannot  know  what  occupation  any  child  will 
follow,  but  from  census  reports  we  do  know  what  occupa- 
tions are  open  to  choice,  not  only  in  Salt  Lake  City,  but  also 
in  the  country  as  a  whole,  and  what  proportion  of  the  popu- 
lation is  now  engaged  in  each  occupation. 

VOCATIONS   IN   SALT   LAKE   CITY 

The  vocational  distribution  of  the  entire  wage-earning 
population  of  Salt  Lake  City,  male  and  female,  according 
to  the  census  reports  for  1910,  was  as  shown  in  the  follow- 
ing table : 

TABLE  XTV 

OCCUPATIONAL  STATISTICS  FOR  SALT  LAKE  CITY 
(£7.  5.  Census  Reports,  1910,  Vol.  IV) 

Total  Population,  Salt  Lake  City,  1910     92,777 

Male  Female 

I.    Total  population  10  years  of  age  or  over      37,905  35.627 

37,730 or  40.7%      i.  Engaged  in  all  occupations 30.279  7,451 

566  or  0.6%    (a)  Agrig.  forestry  and  Animal  husb'y  .    .  553  13 

f  Farmers  —  Farm  laborers 195  5 

Most  important       -I  Gardeners,  nurserymen,  florists    .   .   .  161  7 

I  Stock  raisers,  tenders 157  o 

904  or  0.9%    (b)  Extraction  of  minerals 003  i 

11,564  or  12.5%    (c)  Manf.  and  Mech.  industries     ....  10,260  1,304 

Apprentices      239  31 

Blacksmiths  —  Forgemen      273 

Brick  and  stone  masons 367 

Builders  and  building  contractors    .   .  586  a 

Carpenters 1A3S 

Compositors  —  Typesetters      ....  240  12 

Dressmakers  —  Seamstresses    ....  i  546 


124          School  Organization  and  Administration 

Male    Female 

Most  important          Electricians  —  Elec.  engineers  ....  448 

Over  200  in  each         Stationary  engineers       304 

Laborers  in  building  trades       ....  1,492             20 

Machinists  —  Tool  makers 516 

Manufacturers,  Supt.,  —  Officials    .    .  420              8 

Milliners  —  Dealers  and  workers     .    .  10          192 

Painters,  varnishers,  etc 494 

Plasterers      151 

Plumbers  —  Gas  and  steam  fitters  .    .  313 

Food  Industries 106          155 

Iron  and  steel  industries 290 

Tailors  and  tailoresses 183            19 

4, 235  or  4.6%    (d)  Transportation 4,038          197 

Draymen,  teamsters,  expressmen     .    .  851 

Chauffeurs 65 

Steam  railway  conductors 208 

Over  200  in  each        Street  railway  conductors 145 

Brakemen 161 

Locomotive  engineers 323 

Locomotive  firemen 191 

Motormen 131 

Laborers 667             6 

Summary: 

Water  transportation n             o 

Road  —  Street  transportation  .    .    .    .  1,039              o 

Railroad  work      2,183              6 

Exp.,  Post.  Tel.  —  Telephone  ....  346          183 

Other  transportation  pursuits  ....  459              8 

4,038          197 

6,454017%           (e)  Trade     5,726          728 

Bankers,  brokers  —  Money  lenders .  .  290             5 

Clerks  in  stores 599          274 

Commercial  travelers 394              9 

Over  150  in  each        Deliverymen 475 

Insurance  agents  and  officials       ...  175              2 

Real  estate  dealers      370             8 

Retail  dealers       1,630            64 

Salesmen  and  saleswomen         ....  1,207          339 

Wholesale  dealers  and  importers      .    .  in              i 

1,583011.7%      (f)  Public  Service 1,569            10 

Firemen 69 

Guards,  watchmen,  bookkeepers      .    .  120 


The  Instruction  and  Supervision  as  Seen  125 

Male  Female 

Laborers       208  2 

Marshals,  sheriffs,  detectives    ....  41  i 

All                               Officials  —  Inspectors  (City  and  Co.) .  85  6 

Officials  —  Inspectors  (State,  U.  S.)    .  112  i 

Policemen 73 

Soldiers,  sailors  —  Marines 846 

Other  pursuits 15 

3,342013.6%     (g)  Professional  Service 2,146  1,196 

Authors,  editors,  reporters 98  12 

Civil  and  mining  engineers 444 

Designers,  draughtsmen,  inventors  .    .  118  15 

Over  100  in  each        Lawyers  —  Justices 273  2 

Musicians  —  Teachers  of  music   .    .    .  174  195 

Physicians  —  Surgeons 188  26 

Teachers 113  614 

Nurses 9  112 

5,016  or  5.4%     (h)  Domestic  and  Personal  Service    .    .    .  2,253  2>?63 

Barbers,  hairdressers,  manicures      .    .  266  75 

Bartenders .  275 

Boarding  and  lodging-house  keepers    .  63  331 

Housekeepers  —  Stewards 15  135 

Janitors 211  59 

Launderers —  L'dresses  (not  in  laun- 
dries)       7  201 

Over  100  in  each        Laundry  operatives 105  325 

Midwives  —  Untrained  nurses     ...  22  249 

Porters      141 

Restaurant  and  caf6  keepers     ....  106  16 

Saloon  keepers 99  i 

Servants 417  1,227 

Waiters 268  81 

4,066  or  4.4%      (i)  Clerical  occupations 2,827  1,239 

Agents,  canvassers,  collectors   ....  366  14 

Bookkeepers  —  Cashiers 804  315 

Clerks  (not  in  stores)      1,15°  156 

Messenger  and  office  boys 204  n 

Stenographers  and  typewriters     ...  213  743 

MANUFACTURING  CONDITIONS 

Salt  Lake  City                               1909                1904  1899 

No.  of  manfg.  establishments     .    .    .                  245  192  154 

Av.  no.  of  wage  earners 4,287               2,776  2,154 

Value  of  products     $13,351,000      $7,544,000      $4,279,000 

Values  added  by  manufacturing     .    .        6,736,000        4,029,000        2,302,000 


126         School  Organization  and  Administration 

Wage 
Utah  Employing  Earners 

No.  of  manuf.  estabs.  in      749  11,785 

Total  population  of  Utah 373.351 

Total  population  of  Salt  Lake  City 92,777 

Salt  Lake  City  has  33  per  cent,  of  establishments  of  State  of  Utah. 
Salt  Lake  City  employs  36  per  cent,  of  wage  earners  of  State  of  Utah. 
Per  cent,  of  total  population  engaged  as  wage  earners  in  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments, 4.6  per  cent. 

From  decade  to  decade  there  will  doubtless  be  slight 
changes  in  the  vocational  distribution  shown  in  the  table,  but 
the  proportions  are  not  likely  to  change  materially  in  the 
next  twenty  years,  hence  boys  now  in  the  schools,  if  they 
remain  in  Salt  Lake  City,  will  be  engaged  in  the  occupations 
listed  above  in  about  the  same  proportion  that  obtained  in 
1910.  If  they  go  elsewhere  they  will  find  vocational  de- 
mands not  widely  different.  The  present  distribution  of 
wage  earners  in  Salt  Lake  City,  in  the  nine  leading  occupa- 
tions, is  given  in  Table  V. 


VOCATIONAL   EDUCATION    NEEDED 

It  would  manifestly  be  impossible  to  prepare  each  of  the 
800  boys  who  leave  school  each  year  specifically  for  the 
particular  occupation  which  he  will  follow  out  of  the  vast 
variety  open  to  choice,  even  if  the  choice  of  each  were  known 
in  advance.  A  general  vocational  training  intended  to  lay 
a  broad  foundation  of  vocational  understanding  may,  how- 
ever, be  given  to  all.  A  still  more  secure  foundation  may 
be  laid  for  each  of  the  half  dozen  broad  fields  of  human 
labor  represented  in  the  city,  the  work  in  each  field  being 
taken  only  by  those  who  intend  to  find  their  specialty  there. 

The  boy  should  be  permitted  to  try  himself  out  in  as  many 
vocational  fields  as  possible.  The  range  of  experimental 
activities  should  be  as  wide  as  the  resources  of  the  city  will 
permit.  There  should  be  work  with  wood  of  all  varieties, 
and  in  connection  with  the  woodwork  experiences  in  the  use 


The  Instruction  and  Supervision  as  Seen        127 

of  finishes  of  every  sort.  There  should  be  work  with  metal, 
leather,  clay,  and  textiles.  There  should  be  electric  work, 
printing,  gardening,  buying,  selling,  banking.  The  list 
might  be  greatly  extended. 

Sewing  and  garment  making  for  girls  already  receives 
attention,  but  not  enough  time  is  given  to  the  work  to  make 
it  of  high  vocational  value.  Some  specialization  should  be 
open  to  girls  who  will  not  pursue  their  education  beyond 
the  junior  high  school.  This  is  true  also  of  domestic  sci- 
ence. In  the  good  beginning  thus  far  made  in  teaching 
these  subjects  the  schools  are  rendering  a  far-reaching  social 
service.  Training  for  clerical  service  is  well  provided  for 
in  the  present  courses  of  study.  Vocational  training  for 
girls  should  look  beyond  the  commercial  and  clerical  work 
which  will  necessarily  be  but  temporary,  and  toward  the 
wise  management  of  a  home  in  all  its  varied  relations. 

The  junior  high-school  organization  is  well  adapted  to 
foster  the  wide  variety  of  prevocational  or  try-out  activities 
through  which  only  can  a  boy  or  girl  be  sure  of  making  a 
wise  choice  of  vocation. 

THE   SENIOR    HIGH    SCHOOLS 

The  senior  high  schools,  two  in  number,  offer  seven 
courses,  classical,  scientific,  English,  normal-preparatory, 
mechanics'-arts,  domestic-science,  and  commercial.  In  view 
of  the  importance  of  agriculture  in  the  Salt  Lake  Valley  a 
good  course  in  agriculture  should  be  added.  With  this  addi- 
tion the  high-school  opportunities  furnished  would  be  suffi- 
ciently varied  to  meet  present  needs.  Provision  for  varia- 
tion from  a  single  fixed  course,  alike  for  all,  has  been 
in  vogue  in  high  schools  throughout  the  country  for  many 
years,  whereas  in  the  upper  grades  of  elementary  schools  a 
more  conservative  policy,  amounting  to  rigid  adherence  to  a 
single  course,  has  till  quite  recently  been  the  universal  policy. 
The  Salt  Lake  City  high  schools  have  been  of  the  progres- 
sive class,  and  they  are  now  able,  without  at  all  disturbing 


128          School  Organization  and  Administration 

their  organization,  to  receive  pupils  from  the  new  junior 
high-school  courses  of  the  modern  varied  type  and  carry 
them  forward  along  the  lines  of  work  started  in  the  seventh 
grade.  For  this  reason  the  high-school  situation  has  not 
seemed  to  call  for  much  attention  from  the  members  of  the 
survey  staff. 

The  small  percentage  of  pupils  enrolled  in  the  high 
schools,  and  the  heavy  mortality  during  the  first  year,  as 
shown  by  Figures  14  and  15,  seem  to  indicate  that  the  high 
schools  are  not  making  the  educational  opportunities  they 
provide  as  apparent  to  the  young  people  of  the  community 
as  they  should,  and  perhaps  are  not  adjusting  their  work  as 
closely  as  they  might  to  the  individual  needs  of  the  pupils 
who  enter  the  schools. 


UNGRADED   CLASSES 

The  junior  high  school  does  not  receive  pupils  until  they 
have  completed  the  work  of  six  grades.  The  statistics  of 
retardation  in  the  Salt  Lake  City  schools  disclose  the  fact, 
common  in  the  experience  of  all  school  systems,  that  there 
are  many  children  in  the  lower  grades  who,  though  not  feeble 
minded,  are  slow  to  grasp  the  fundamentals  which,  in  the 
main,  constitute  the  work  of  the  first  six  grades.  They 
cannot  work  to  advantage  in  regular  classes  because  they 
need  more  individual  attention  than  they  can  get  there. 
Failing  of  promotion  term  after  term,  they  become  discour- 
aged and  indifferent.  It  is  expensive  to  keep  them  in  the 
regular  classes  because  they  must  be  taken  over  the  same 
ground  repeatedly,  owing  to  their  inability  to  keep  the  pace 
of  the  class.  Not  only  is  it  expensive,  but  it  is  also  waste- 
ful of  human  life  and  capacity.  Children  of  this  type  can 
master  the  rudiments  of  education  if  allowed  to  move  for- 
ward slowly  but  regularly.  They  need  to  be  organized  in 
special  classes  of  moderate  size,  and  to  move  forward  at 
their  own  pace,  without  repeating.  Such  groups  are  some- 
times called  auxiliary  classes,  sometimes  ungraded  classes. 


The  Instruction  and  Supervision  as  Seen        129 

A  few  such  classes  have  been  organized  in  Salt  Lake  City. 
On  a  false  theory  of  economy  some  of  them  have  recently 
been  discontinued.  Each  large  school  should  have  at  least 
one  such  class.  Unlike  some  of  those  now  conducted,  such 
classes  should  be  managed  with  no  expectation  of  meeting 
grade  requirements  of  the  course  of  study.  The  teacher 
should  regulate  the  course  in  accordance  with  individual 
needs,  and  there  should  be  much  objective  work.  Practical 
arts,  of  a  less  advanced  type  than  those  in  the  junior  high 
school,  should  provide  motive  for  reading,  writing,  compo- 
sition, and  arithmetic.  Instead  of  reducing  the  number  of 
ungraded  classes  the  city  should  increase  their  number,  and 
should  adjust  the  character  of  the  work  done  in  them,  not 
on  the  basis  of  the  regular  course  of  study,  but  on  the  basis 
of  adaptation  to  the  peculiar  aptitudes  of  the  pupils.  This 
subject  is  considered  more  in  detail  in  Chapter  IX. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE   EFFICIENCY   OF   THE   INSTRUCTION 

MEASURED 

PURPOSE   OF   THIS   SECTION   OF   THE   REPORT 

TO  be  able  to  state  in  quantitative  terms  just  what  the 
efficiency  of  instruction  in  a  given  school  or  subject 
is,  is  a  recent  innovation  in  school  practice  which  is  becom- 
ing of  increasing  importance  as  scales  for  this  purpose  are 
perfected.  It  is  not  enough  to  get  results  in  teaching,  but 
we  must  be  able  to  define  those  results,  and  it  should  be 
emphasized  that,  until  this  can  be  done,  we  really  know  very 
little  about  the  results  obtained. 

It  is  the  purpose  here  to  report  the  results  of  a  series  of 
tests  which  were  designed  to  measure  the  state  of  efficiency 
of  instruction  in  the  Salt  Lake  City  schools,  in  those  sub- 
jects which  are  intended  to  provide  the  children  with  the 
common  tools  of  knowledge,  and  which  every  .one  recog- 
nizes as  the  basis  of  all  education. 

EXTENT   OF   THE   TESTS    MADE 

To  this  end  tests  were  given  in  the  subjects  of  reading, 
writing,  spelling,  composition,  and  arithmetic,  to  from  9  to 
22  per  cent,  of  the  children  in  the  elementary  schools  of  the 
city.  For  this  purpose  19  of  the  30  schools  were  selected, 
taking  care  to  touch  every  type  of  community  from  the 
standpoint  of  population  and  social  and  economic  status, 
and  general  school  conditions  as  to  size  of  school,  quality 
of  building  and  instruction,  etc.  From  each  of  these  schools 
the  "  B,"  or  upper  classes,  were  chosen  for  the  tests. 

130    ' 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       131 

Whatever  results  appear  are  therefore  fully  typical  of  the 
schools  as  a  whole,  probably  little  if  any  different  from 
what  would  have  been  the  case  had  every  child  in  the  system 
been  included  in  the  test.1  Dealing  with  the  upper  classes 
of  each  grade,  and  at  the  close  of  the  school  year,  the  results 
represent  practically  the  final  achievements  of  the  grades 
tested. 

The  tests  used  were  all  standardized  tests,  and,  while  no 
adequate  explanation  of  any  one  of  them  can  be  given  here, 
it  should  be  noted  that  each  one  had  been  specially  designed 
for  its  purpose,  and  not  only  represented  the  best  scientific 
achievement  in  that  line  at  the  time,  but  each  had  proved  its 
value  in  teaching  and  supervision  in  many  school  systems. 

Results  obtained  from  these  tests  in  other  cities  were 
therefore  serviceable,  and  fully  trustworthy  for  comparative 
purposes  here. 

WHAT   SUCH   TESTS   SHOULD   REVEAL 

The  forces  and  conditions  determining  the  results  of 
teaching  the  subjects  tested,  as  well  as  all  other  subjects, 
are  extremely  varied.  The  responsibility  of  the  school  lies 
in  discovering,  defining,  and  controlling  those  different  fac- 
tors, to  the  end  that  the  greatest  economy  in  instruction  shall 
obtain.  Time  allotment,  teaching  equipment,  method,  hy- 
gienic and  aesthetic  conditions  of  the  room,  etc.,  are  all 
factors  of  importance  in  determining  the  efficiency  of  the 
instruction,  but  no  single  factor  is  so  great  as  that  of  indi- 
vidual differences  in  mental  ability.  The  school  can  easily 
control  the  time,  equipment,  and  method  factors,  but  it  can- 
not determine  original  mental  endowment.  This  only  em- 
phasizes the  fact  that  it  is  the  function  of  the  school  to 
organize  and  operate  in  terms  of  child  nature,  justifying  its 

1  In  bulletin  No.  2,  of  the  Boston  Department  of  Educational  Investigation 
and  Measurement  (Nov.,  1914),  Dr.  Ballou  found  that  a  study  of  1,000  cases 
(arithmetic  tests)  showed  almost  identically  the  same  median  as  that  obtained 
in  a  study  of  20,000  cases. 


132          School  Organization  and  Administration 

plans  for  supervision,  promotion,  grading,  methods  of  in- 
struction, etc.,  always  in  terms  of  the  degree  to  which  they 
aid  in  the  adjustment  of  the  school  to  the  individual  needs 
of  the  children. 

Such  tests  as  were  employed  and  are  here  described  are 
well  adapted  to  finding  out  how  fully  the  schools  are  meet- 
ing this  important  responsibility.  A  bad  classification  of 
children  is  a  greater  handicap  than  can  be  offset  by  the 
greatest  excellence  in  methods,  supervision,  or  equipment. 

HOW    THE   TESTS    WERE    CONDUCTED 

With  the  exception  of  writing  and  composition  the  tests 
were  conducted  by  members  of  the  survey  staff,  all  of  whom 
were  engaged  at  this  work  for  from  three  to  five  full  days. 
The  tests  were  given  under  as  nearly  normal  schoolroom 
conditions  as  was  possible.  The  papers  were  scored  by 
teachers  and  principals,  under  the  careful  instruction  of  a 
member  of  the  staff,  no  teacher  scoring  her  own  papers 
where  more  than  mere  counting  or  checking  was  involved. 
The  results  of  the  scoring  and  recording  were  gone  over 
with  sufficient  care  to  guarantee  that  no  unusual  errors  crept 
into  the  final  results.  A  few  papers,  and  papers  for  a  very 
few  classes,  had  to  be  discarded  because  instructions  were 
not  carefully  followed.  It  is  believed  that  the  results  as 
shown  below  are  fully  trustworthy  as  evidence  of  the  effi- 
ciency of  instruction  in  these  subjects,  as  they  were  being 
handled  at  the  time  the  school  survey  was  made. 

i.    THE  TEST  IN  SPELLING 

The  subject  of  spelling  is  begun  in  the  second  grade,  and 
continued  through  the  eighth.  The  average  amount  of  time 
given  to  the  subject  is  approximately  100  minutes  per  week 
for  all  grades  save  the  third,  which  devotes  1 50  minutes  per 
week  to  this  subject.  (See  Table  XII,  page  77.)  The 
general  suggestions  and  plans  outlined  in  the  printed  course 
of  study  for  spelling  are  excellent.  The  work  is  carefully 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured,       133 


correlated  with  other  work  in  English,  and  the  spelling  text 
is  supplemented  by  lists  of  words  made  up  by  the  super- 
visors and  teachers.  It  should  be  said  at  the  outset  that  the 
amount  of  time  devoted  to  this  subject  is  at  least  25  per 
cent,  too  high,  50  per  cent  in  case  of  grade  three,  and  that 
a  fair  interpretation  of  the  results  of  this  test  must  bear  this 
fact  in  mind. 

The  test,  which  was  given  to  the  "  B  "  class  in  each  of 
the  grades  three  to  eight  inclusive,  in  nineteen  schools,  was 
that  devised  by  Dr.  Leonard  P.  Ayres,  which  he  used  in  the 
Springfield  survey,1  and  which  he  has  later  embodied  in  a 
complete  spelling  scale.2  The  test  is  composed  of  the  fol- 
lowing sixty  words : 


GRADE3 

GRADE  4 

GRADE  5 

i.  fill 

i.  forty 

i.  several 

2.  point 

2.  rate 

2.  leaving 

3.  state 

3.  children 

3.  publish 

4.  ready 

4.  prison 

4.  o'clock 

5.  almost 

5.  title 

5.  running 

6.  high 

6.  getting 

6.  known 

7.  event 

7.  need 

7.  secure 

8.  done 

8.  throw 

8.  wait 

9.  pass 

9.  feel 

9.  manner 

10.  Tuesday 

10.  speak 

10.  flight 

GRADE  6 

GRADE  7 

GRADE  8 

i.  decide 

i.  district 

i.  petrified 

2.  general 

2.  consideration 

2.  tariff 

3.  manner 

3.  athletics 

3.  emergency 

4.  too 

4.  distinguish 

4.  corporation 

5.  automobile 

5.  evidence 

5.  convenience 

6.  victim 

6.  conference 

6.  receipt 

7.  hospital 

7.  amendment 

7.  cordially 

8.  neither 

8.  liquor 

8.  discussion 

o.  toward 

9.  experience 

9.  appreciate 

10.  business 

10.  receive 

10.  decision 

1  The  Public  Schools  of  Springfield,  Illinois.  An  educational  survey,  Divi- 
sion of  Education,  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  Bulletin  E  137.  1913. 

1  A  Measuring  Scale  for  Ability  in  Spelling.  Leonard  P.  Ayres,  Division  of 
Education,  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  1915. 


134          School  Organization  and  Administration 


Each  word  was  selected  from  the  1,000  words  found, 
after  a  lengthy  investigation,  to  be  the  1,000  most  com- 
monly used  words  in  writing,  and  placed  in  groups  by 
grades,  on  the  basis  of  an  extended  test  of  each  word  in 
the  schools  of  84  eastern  cities.  Each  word  appears  in  the 
grade  in  which  it  was  spelled  correctly  on  an  average  by 
70  per  cent,  of  the  children.  We  may  therefore  accept  70 
per  cent,  as  the  standard  which  each  grade  in  Salt  Lake  City 
should  attain,  if  the  instruction  in  this  subject  is  as  good 
as  the  average  in  a  large  number  of  cities  in  the  United 
States. 

The  list  of  words  was  pronounced  to  the  children  by  the 
regular  classroom  teacher,  in  the  presence  of  a  member  of 
the  survey  staff,  ordinary  class  procedure  obtaining  in  mat- 
ters of  writing,  pronunciation,  explanation  of  words  of 
more  than  one  meaning,  etc.  The  papers  were  collected,  im- 
mediately scored  by  the  teacher,  and  turned  over  to  the  mem- 
ber of  the  survey  in  charge. 


755755374    3633356736 


44444443S>*45??'444    g  A^tSSffSStU 

FIG.  16.    RESULTS  OF  THE  SPELLING  TEST,  BY  SCHOOLS 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       135 


THE  RESULTS   OF  THE  TEST 

The  results  of  this  test  appear  in  the  accompanying  tables 
and  diagrams,which  present  the  facts  by  schools,  by  grades, 
for  the  city  as  a  whole,  and  in  comparison  with  results  ob- 
tained in  three  other  cities  where  this  test  has  been  used 
recently. 

In  Table  XV  the  average  score  for  each  grade  in  each 
school,  graded  on  the  scale  of  100  per  cent,  is  presented  in 
detail,  and,  at  the  top,  combined  for  the  city  as  a  whole  by 
grades.  The  important  features  of  this  table  are  shown 
graphically  in  Figure  16,  in  which  the  upper  margin  of  the 
shaded  surface  indicates  the  highest  average  score  made  by 

TABLE  XV.     SPELLING 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  AVERAGE  SCORES  BY  SCHOOLS,  BY  GRADES,  AND  FOR  THE 
CITY  AS  A  WHOLE 

(Ayres  Test) 


School 

Total 
Ave. 

Grade 

VIII 

VII 

VI 

V 

IV 

III 

TOTAL  FOR  CITY      . 

86.0 

82.2 

87.1 

86.8 

87.6 

78.8 

89.9 

Emerson  School    .... 

81.1 

80.2 

95-7 

82.5 

81.4 

62.4 

84.1 

Forest  School    

8v9 

70.  "i 

78.8 

82.1 

04.1? 

77.0 

04..  ^ 

Grant  School     

wtj   y 

86.1 

•  y  */ 

89.1 

88.8 

7^   J 
92.5 

/  / 
79-5 

y*T*o 
90.7 

Hamilton  School  .... 

89.5 

.     . 

95-2 

85-8 

92.6 

80.9 

94-4 

Jackson  School     .... 

77.2 

78.2 

82.3 

90.4 

94.6 

64-S 

92.5 

Jefferson  School    .... 

89.0 

86.5 

88.7 

90.0 

92.O 

85-3 

92.0 

Lafayette  School  .... 

84.5 

84.6 

82.4 

90-3 

82.8 

75-9 

90.6 

Lincoln  School      .... 

89.0 

93-3 

92.5 

9I.I 

87.8 

86.5 

Lowell  School       .... 

92.4 

86.1 

94-4 

98.3 

96.4 

98.7 

91.2 

Onequa  School      .... 

84.4 

73-i 

82.3 

83-9 

85.9 

85-9 

95-9 

Oquirrh  School     .... 

89.1 

87.8 

96.9 

93-o 

85.1 

85.7 

Poplar  Grove  School   .    . 

87.8 

89-5 

90.0 

86.9 

76.8 

87.4 

93-9 

Riverside  School  .... 

84.8 

76.8 

89.7 

84.1 

77.1 

81.0 

98.7 

Sumner  School      .    .    ,  . 

83-3 

76.1 

80.6 

73-8 

90.0 

76.6 

95-5 

Training  School    .... 

68.9 

71.0 

65.2 

83.1 

58.8 

66.4 

Wasatch  School    .... 

93-o 

97-9 

91-3 

98.4 

96.9 

78.7 

97-2 

Washington  School  .    .    . 

82.9 

9i-3 

89.7 

79-3 

73-9 

75-8 

Webster  School     .... 

84.4 

76.8 

86.0 

86.9 

86.5 

79-9 

87.3 

Whittier  School    .... 

91.8 

89.0 

95-4 

97.1 

89-7 

85.8 

944 

136          School  Organization  and  Administration 

any  grade  in  each  of  the  schools,  the  lower  margin  the  low- 
est average,  the  central  line  the  complete  school  average, 
and  the  straight  line  the  average  for  the  city. 

Certain  facts  stand  out  here  which  may  be  studied  in  de- 
tail in  Table  XV.  First  of  all,  the  difference  in  the  effi- 
ciency of  different  grades  in  the  same  school.  From  the 
figures  above  and  below  the  margins,  it  may  be  seen  that  the 
fourth  grade  in  the  Emerson  School  made  only  slightly 
above  60  per  cent,  whereas  grade  seven  made  above  95  per 
cent.  The  Jackson  School  is  a  similar  extreme  case,  which 
contrasts  with  the  record  of  the  Jefferson  School.  Either 
the  average  child  in  the  fourth  grade  of  the  Emerson,  Jack- 
son, and  Training  schools  cannot  be  promoted  in  spelling 
this  year,  or,  if  so,  then  the  basis  for  promotion  in  grade 
four  must  be  much  lower  than  that  used  in  promoting  chil- 
dren in  the  grades  of  these  same  schools  which  are  repre- 
sented by  the  upper  margin  of  the  diagram. 

The  second  suggestion  offered  by  the  diagram  is  the  dif- 
ference in  school  averages,  varying  as  they  do,  from  slightly 
under  70  per  cent,  to  93  per  cent.  One  must  ask  if  that 
difference  represents  the  difference  in  the  basis  of  promo- 
tion in  spelling  in  the  different  schools,  since  these  children 
are  to  come  up  for  promotion  in  a  few  weeks.  Similarly,  a 
comparison  of  schools  based  on  the  best  average  score  made 
by  any  grade,  or  on  the  lowest  average  score  made  by  any 
grade,  or  a  comparison  of  any  given  school  with  the  city 
average,  shows  this  same  wide  diversity  of  standards  which 
exists  between  different  schools,  and,  in  several  cases,  be- 
tween different  grades  in  the  same  school. 

Another  fact  which  comes  out  in  this  diagram  is  that 
grade  four  most  often  ranks  lowest,  and  that  grade  three 
most  often  ranks  highest.  It  will  be  recalled  that  grade 
three  devotes  50  per  cent,  more  time  to  spelling  than  do  the 
other  grades.  This,  though,  is  too  high  a  price  to  pay  for 
this  superior  record. 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       137 


RESULTS   OF   THE   TEST   BY   INDIVIDUALS 

Such  diversities  as  these  suggest  the  importance  of  study- 
ing the  children  individually,  rather  than  by  schools  or 
grade  groups.  This  is  done  in  Table  XVI,  which  shows 
the  percentage  of  children  from  each  grade,  and  for  the 
city  as  a  whole,  who  attained  each  of  the  possible  scores. 


TABLE  XVI 

SHOWING  THE  PERCENTAGE  or  CHILDREN  OF  EACH  GRADE  WHO  ATTAINED 
EACH  OF  THE  POSSIBLE  SCORES  IN  SPELLING 

(Ayres  Test) 


Scor 

e 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

So 

40 

30 

20 

10 

o 

VIII    

31-6 

20.6 

15-3 

10.4 

iS-8 

2.4 

3-i 

0.8 

. 

VII  

39-8 

24.5 

19-3 

7.1 

4-5 

2.7 

1.2 

0-5 

0.2 

O.2 

.    . 

VI  

39-6 

24.8 

17.6 

7.2 

5-3 

2.7 

1.6 

0.9 

0-3 

.    . 

V     

43.1 

26.2 

12.9 

7-2 

5-6 

2.7 

1.7 

0.6 

.    . 

IV  

23.8 

2I.O 

18.7 

14.2 

11.4 

4-3 

3-5 

2-3 

0.8 

.    . 

Ill  

53-2 

2O.2 

12.4 

6-7 

3-7 

1.3 

1.2 

0.7 

0-3 

0-3 

TOTAL  FOR  CITY 

400 

?3  1 

161 

88 

6? 

?7 

1  8 

1  0 

0? 

01 

These  facts  are  shown  graphically  in  Figure  17,  in  which 
the  children  of  each  grade  may  be  studied  individually,  and 
in  comparison  with  those  of  other  grades,  and  with  those 
for  the  city  as  a  whole. 

Looking  first  at  the  distribution  for  the  entire  city,  includ- 
ing the  records  of  nearly  4,000  children  —  over  one-fifth  of 
all  the  children  in  the  elementary  schools  —  it  will  be  seen 
that  40  per  cent.,  or  four  of  every  ten  children  tested,  spelled 
all  the  ten  words  correctly;  that  over  20  per  cent.,  or  two 
of  every  ten,  spelled  nine  words  correctly,  and  that  all  the 
other  scores,  except  zero,  are  represented  in  the  diagram 


138          School  Organization  and  Administration 

by  a  rapidly  decreasing  percentage  of  the  children.  The 
distributions  for  grades  five,  six,  and  seven  are  much  similar 
to  this,  while  those  for  grades  eight,  four,  and  three  are 


tf,af 


GRADE Utt 


GRADEm 

S -fl  CHILDREN 


ENTIRE  CITY  - 

39Sf  CHILDREN      - 


mwwwwmfwu 


GRADETT 

70Z 


30*0  70  U)  5040  30 


GRADEET 

710  C.HIIDOEM 


GRADETJL 


SPELLING  TEST. 


FIG.  17.    SHOWING  FOR  THE  CITY  AS  A  WHOLE,  AND  BY  GRADES,  THE  PER- 
CENTAGE OF  CHILDREN  ATTAINING  EACH  OF  THE  POSSIBLE  SCORES 

different.  More  than  half  the  children  in  grade  three,  and 
less  than  a  fourth  of  the  children  in  grade  four,  attained 
perfect  scores.  Similar  comparisons  may  be  made  by  refer- 
ence to  the  median  score,  which  .is  indicated  for  each  sec- 


The  'Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured      139 

tion  of  the  diagram.  The  median  or  middle  score  for  all 
the  3,988  children  tested  is  91  per  cent.,  which  means  that 
one-half  of  the  group,  or  1,994  children,  attained  a  score 
above  91,  while  the  same  number  fell  below  91.  As  was 
shown  by  Figure  16,  grade  four  ranks  lowest  with  a  median 
of  82,  and  grade  three  highest  with  a  median  of  96. 

UNEVEN   ABILITY   SHOWN 

'It  is  clear  from  this  showing  that  the  test  was  too  easy 
for  two-fifths  of  the  children  in  the  Salt  Lake  City  schools. 
How  many  more  words  of  equal  difficulty  these  children 
might  have  spelled  can  only  be  conjectured.  It  is  enough 
to  say  that  two-fifths  of  the  children  of  these  grades  have 
long  since  been  ready  for  promotion,  according  to  the 
standard  of  this  test. 

There  is  another  feature  of  this  diagram,  however,  that 
must  not  be  overlooked,  and  that  is  the  fact  that  in  each 
grade  there  are  a  few  children  who  fail  to  spell  more  than 
half  of  the  ten  words  correctly.  For  the  city  as  a  whole 
this  group  amounts  to  nearly  six  per  cent.,  or  approximately 
250  of  the  children  tested.  While  it  is  true  that  Salt  Lake 
City  is  not  unlike  other  cities  in  this  respect,  yet  this  question 
should  be  met  squarely.  While  the  details  for  individual 
classes  cannot  be  shown  here,  the  same  condition  which  ob- 
tains with  respect  to  whole  grades  in  the  city  obtains  also  in 
single  classrooms. 

Pedagogically  this  makes  a  teaching  situation  which  no 
teacher  can  hope  to  meet  adequately.  With  such  extremes 
of  abilities  in  a  class,  some  children  may  dawdle  their  time 
away,  while  others  are  being  overworked.  It  should  be  re- 
membered that  dawdling  is  not  mere  resting,  or  waiting. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  a  constructive  part  of  the  child's  train- 
ing, which  is  developing  for  him  slovenly,  half-hearted 
habits  of  work  which  do  not  make  use  of  his  full  capacity 
for  achievement.  With  the  child  who  ranks  far  below  his 
class  average  the  case  is  different.  It  is  the  unusual  teacher 


140          School  Organization  and  Administration 

who  does  not  finally  count  him  a  hopeless  case,  and  permit 
him  to  drift,  or,  to  save  her  own  teaching  reputation,  drive 
him  along  by  the  most  unpedagogical  methods  until  the 
process  finally  eliminates  him. 


COMPARISON    WITH    THREE   OTHER    CITIES 

A  comparison  of  the  showing  in  Salt  Lake  City  with  that 
made  in  three  other  cities  in  which  this  test  has  been  recently 
used  seemed  desirable,  and  is  presented  in  Table  XVII. 

TABLE  XVII 

SPELLING  TEST  —  SALT  LAKE  CITY  COMPARED  WITH  OTHER  CITIES 
(Ayres  Test) 


City 

Grade 

Ave. 

II 

III 

IV 

V 

VI 

VII 

VIII 

Springfield,  111  

70.0 
86.2 
60.4 

65.0 
81.8 
66.7 
89.9 

70.0 
78.7 

75-9 
78.8 

72.0 
84-5 
84.7 
87.6 

68.0 
75-0 
80.2 
86.8 

73-o 
76.2 

79-7 
87.1 

75-o 
89.4 
76.3 
82.2 

70.0 
80.3 
76.5 
86.0 

Butte,  Mont.1      

Oakland,  Cal.2      

SALT  LAKE  CITY      .    . 

1  Includes  only  B  classes. 

*  Sears,  J.  B.,  Spelling  Efficiency  in  the  Oakland  Schools,  Board  of  Education  Bulletin,  Oak- 
land, J9IS-  The  test  in  Oakland  was  given  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  and  includes  results  from 
both  A  and  B  classes. 

NOTE.  Salt  Lake  City  should  rank  slightly  higher  than  Oakland,  since  the  test  included  only 
the  B  section  of  the  grade  and  was  given  five  months  later  in  the  school  year. 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Salt  Lake  City  schools 
rank  well  above  those  of  the  other  cities  in  all  grades  except 
the  eighth,  and  that,  for  the  city  as  a  whole,  they  stand  6 
per  cent,  above  all  the  others. 

Discounting  this  showing  liberally  because  it  represents 
the  final  product  of  the  grades,  the  midyear  classes  not  being 
included,  it  can  still  be  said  that  Salt  Lake  City  ranks 
high,  probably  highest  for  the  city  as  a  whole,  and  for  at 
least  three  of  the  grades.  But  again  reference  must  be 
made  to  the  fact  that  in  Springfield  the  amount  of  time  given 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       141 

to  spelling  ranges  from  o  to  40  minutes  per  day,  i.  e.,  from 
o  to  200  minutes  per  week ;  that  in  Oakland  the  range  is  from 
10  to  200  minutes  per  week,  with  an  average  of  slightly  less 
than  100  minutes ;  while  the  range  in  Salt  Lake  City  is  from 
30  to  300  minutes  per  week,  with  an  average  of  1 1 5  minutes. 
While  the  question  of  time  cannot  be  settled  absolutely  for 
all  classes  and  schools  alike,  the  best  investigations  of  this 
subject  do  not  seem  to  warrant  the  recommendation  of  more 
than  75  minutes  per  week  as  a  maximum  amount  of  time  for 
the  subject  of  spelling.  While  Salt  Lake  City  has  made  a 
decidedly  high  showing,  the  large  time-cost  which  it  places 
upon  the  schools  must  be  taken  into  account. 

Nor  must  this  excellent  showing  in  general  obscure  the 
situation  pointed  out  above.  It  is  true  that  this  brings  to 
light  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  in  school  organiza- 
tion. It  is  true  that  much  the  same  situation  exists  in  other 
cities.  In  a  highly  complex  system  the  individual  child  is 
too  apt  to  be  lost  in  the  midst  of  machinery.  The  cure  is 
individual  promotion,  at  reasonably  frequent  intervals,  on 
the  basis  of  single  subjects,  instead  of  grade  or  groups  of 
subjects.  There  are  many  difficulties  attending  the  admin- 
istration of  such  a  remedy,  but  with  adequate  supervision 
it  can  be  accomplished. 

2.    THE  TEST  IN  COMPOSITION 

Some  form  of  language  work  is  taught  in  all  grades. 
Story  telling  and  dramatization  in  the  early  years  anticipate 
the  work  in  written  composition,  which  begins  in  grade 
three  in  the  form  of  letter  writing  and  story  reproduction. 
The  outline  for  this  work  in  the  printed  course  of  study  is 
most  suggestive,  leaving  wide  freedom  to  the  teacher,  but 
freedom  in  the  midst  of  rich  suggestions  as  to  what  ends  to 
seek  and  what  motives  to  provide.  Especially  is  it  notice- 
able and  commendable  that  formal  grammar  is  presented 
only  as  a  means  of  explaining  and  clarifying  oral  or  written 
expression. 


142          School  Organization  and  Administration 

The  amount  of  time  devoted  to  the  subject  varies  widely 
in  every  grade,  but  on  the  average  increases  gradually  from 
75  minutes  per  week  for  grades  one  and  two,  to  255  minutes 
per  week  for  grade  eight.  (See  Table  XII,  page  77.) 
Twenty-five  per  cent,  more  time  is  given  to  spelling  in  grade 
two  than  is  given  to  language  work,  and  in  grade  three 
fifty  per  cent,  more  time,  while  an  equal  amount  is  given 
the  two  subjects  in  grade  four.  This  is  obviously  so  un- 
reasonable a  distribution  of  time  between  these  two  subjects 
that  it  should  only  be  necessary  to  discover  that  such  a  dis- 
crepancy exists  in  order  to  have  it  changed. 


NATURE   AND   METHOD   OF   THE   COMPOSITION    TEST 

The  test,  which  is  explained  in  the  following  paragraphs 
from  a  circular  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  teachers,  was 
given  in  grades  four  to  eight  inclusive,  in  the  nineteen 
schools  selected  for  the  testing  work. 

COMPOSITION  TEST 

1.  Each  teacher  is  requested  to  ask  her  children  to  write  a  composition 
for  her  on  the  following  theme: 

"Suppose  that  you  have  twenty  dollars,  which  you  have  been  given  to  spend. 
You  have  five  friends,  and  you  decide  to  spend  it  in  such  a  manner  as  will  give 
the  most  pleasure  to  each.  Tell  what  you  would  do  or  buy  for  each  friend. 
The  amount  spent  for  each  friend  need  not  be  the  same,  but  the  total  for  the 
five  must  be  twenty  dollars." 

2.  The  composition  should  be  written  with  pen  and  ink,  and  on  the  regular 
writing  paper. 

3.  After  the  children  are  ready  for  writing,  read  the  subject  to  them,  give 
them  a  minute  or  two  to  ask  any  questions,  and,  as  soon  as  you  are  sure  that 
the  children  understand  what  they  are  to  do,  start  them  at  writing. 

4.  When  the  children  have  finished,  collect  the  papers,  fasten  those  for  each 
class  together  with  a  clip,  and  send  to  the  office  of  the  school  principal. 

.No  teacher  marked  her  own  papers,  hence  the  personal 
element  probably  entered  very  slightly  into  the  scoring, 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       143 

which  was  done  by  the  use  of  the  Hillegas  scale  for  measur- 
ing the  quality  of  English  composition.1 

In  all  there  were  3,043  compositions  written,  representing 
a  sample  of  slightly  more  than  16  per  cent,  of  the  children 
in  the  elementary  schools  of  the  city. 


THE   RESULTS   OF   THE   TEST 

The  results  of  this  test  are  shown  briefly  in  the  following 
tables  and  diagram. 

TABLE  XVm 

SHOWING  DISTRIBUTION  OF  COMPOSITION  SCORES  OR  RATINGS,  BY  GRADES 
(Hillegas  Scale) 


Grade 

Ratings  and  Number  in  Each  Grade  Making 
Each  Rating  l 

Number  1 
of  Sample  | 

Median  | 

o 

i 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

VTII  

i 
i 

21 

3 

3 
i? 
38 

100 

136 

2O 

SI 
89 

"5 

159 

44 
84 

120 
I4O 

157 

81 

165 
123 
i33 
i59 

8? 
95 
106 
69 

Si 

92 

&8 
67 
S3 
43 

82 
70 

31, 

21 
IS 

29 
13 

8 

i 

45 
13 

4 

483 
597 
587 
653 
723 

5-4 
4-4 
3-8 

3-i 
2.9 

VII    

VI  

V    

IV  

1  The  actual  values  are  not  o,  i,  2.  3,  4,  etc..  but  o,  183,  260,  369,  474,  585,  675,  772, 838,  and 
g37-  Full  explanation  of  how  these  values  were  derived,  and  of  the  nature  and  purpose  of  the  scale, 
are  given  by  its  author  in  the  Teachers  College  Record  for  September,  1912. 

In  Table  XVIII  a  complete  distribution  of  scores  attained 
by  each  of  the  grades  is  shown,  together  with  the  median 
score  attained  by  each  grade.  From  this  table  it  may  be 
seen  that  the  degree  of  efficiency  rises  gradually  from  grade 

1  Hillegas,  Milo  B.,  A  Scale  for  the  Measurement  of  Quality  in  English  Com- 
position by  Young  People.  Published  by  Teachers  College,  Columbia  Univer- 
sity, 1912. 


144         School  Organization  and  Administration 


SCORES-'     01    23456    78*9 

MEDIAN   SCORES: 


GRADE  3DH 


PER  CENT. OF  PUPILS 

•15 


y  \{\ 


GRADE 


GRADE H 


SCORE:   o 

FIG.  1 8.     RESULTS  OF  THE  COMPOSITION  TEST 

This  shows  the  percentage  of  pupils  in  each  grade  who  attained  each  of  the  pos- 
sible scores,  judged  by  the  Hillegas  Scale. 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       145 

four  to  grade  eight.  That  is,  from  this  test  it  appears  that 
the  average  child  in  the  Salt  Lake  City  schools,  during  the 
course  of  four  years'  training  in  English  composition,  may 
be  expected  to  gain  in  efficiency  the  equivalent  of  2l/2  points 
on  this  scale,  or  at  the  rate  of  .6  point  per  year.  According 
to  the  Butte  school  survey1  the  progress  of  a  child  in  that 
city  was  at  the  rate  of  .45  point  on  the  scale  per  year.  Most 
of  the  points  in  this  table  are  brought  out  more  effectively  in 
Figure  18,  which  shows  for  each  grade  the  percentage  of 
the  children  who  attained  each  of  the  possible  scores. 

The  achievement  for  the  median  child  in  grade  four,  and 
that  for  the  median  child  of  grade  eight,  are  indicated  by  the 
long  vertical  lines  drawn  through  the  entire  diagram.  Be- 
tween these,  at  fairly  regular  intervals,  with  one  exception, 
appear  the  short  vertical  lines  representing  the  medians  of 
the  three  intervening  grades.  This  seems  to  suggest  that 
the  composition  work  is  equally  well  done  in  all  these  five 
grades.  Closer  examination  of  the  exception  referred  to 
shows  that  the  rate  of  progress  for  grade  four  has  been 
substantially  higher  than  that  for  the  other  grades.  It  will 
be  recalled  that  grade  four  ranked  lowest  in  spelling.  If 
that  was  because  this  grade  was  working  harder  on  compo- 
sition, then  it  is  the  writer's  opinion  that  the  schools  can 
well  afford  to  permit  the  spelling  scores  of  all  grades  to  drop 
from  5  to  10  per  cent,  more,  especially  since  more  than  25 
per  cent,  more  time  is  given  to  spelling  than  is  desirable. 
Particularly  in  the  language  work  of  the  early  grades  could 
this  time  be  used  to  far  better  advantage. 

CHILDREN    POORLY   CLASSIFIED   FOR   LANGUAGE   WORK 

By  this  diagram  attention  is  also  called  to  the  wide  variety 
of  abilities  found  in  each  grade.  This  was  found  to  be  char- 
acteristic also  of  individual  classes,  and  presents  the  same 

1  Report  of  the  Survey  of  the  School  System  of  Butte,  Montana.  Reprinted  by 
The  World  Book  Company,  1916. 


146          School  Organization  and  Administration 

teaching  difficulties  as  were  pointed  out  above  in  connection 
with  spelling.  How  to  assign  a  lesson,  or  how  to  discuss 
sentence  or  paragraph  formation,  or  the  details  of  letter 
writing,  with  a  class  containing  children  as  widely  apart  in 
ability  as  are  those  represented  by  the  outer  ends  of  the  dif- 
ferent sections  of  this  diagram,  would  be  difficult  to  state. 
In  fact  it  cannot  be  done  without  losing  time  for  some 
members  of  the  class. 

The  diagram  shows  that  there  are  nearly  8  per  cent.,  almost 
60  children  of  the  fourth  grade,  whose  composition  scored 
higher  than  that  written  by  the  average  child  in  grade  eight. 
It  is  not  merely  unfair  to  these  60  children,  but  unfair  to  the 
city's  future  citizenship,  to  say  nothing  of  the  money  cost 
involved,  that  these  60  children,  who  probably  represent  the 
real  future  leadership  of  the  city,  should  not  be  promoted  to 
where  full,  not  half  opportunity,  will  be  given  them  in  this 
subject. 

SAMPLES   OF   AVERAGE   COMPOSITION 

In  order  that  the  reader  may  judge  for  himself  of  the 
quality  of  work  the  schools  are  doing  in  composition,  the 
children's  papers  from  the  different  schools  have  been  looked 
over  and  those  papers  from  each  grade  which  received  the 
score  nearest  the  median  (approximately  the  average)  for 
the  grade  have  been  sorted  out.  From  these  the  following 
compositions  have  been  selected  as  typical  illustrations,  not 
of  the  best  or  the  poorest,  but  of  the  average  compositions 
from  each  grade  tested.  They  are  presented  here  exactly  as 
written,  spelled,  and  punctuated  in  the  original,  except  that 
proper  names  have  been  omitted. 

On  the  formal  side  there  are  plenty  of  errors  in  these 
papers,  in  spelling,  punctuation,  sentence  formation,  etc., 
and  one  or  two  seem  rather  formal  and  dry.  In  most  of 
them,  however,  there  is  evidence  of  some  play  of  the  imagi- 
nation, and  fairly  free  expression.  Most  of  the  vocabularies 
seem  adequate,  and  in  such  details  these  samples  seem  to 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       147 

indicate  that  the  composition  work  is  fairly  well  taught.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  these  are  but  average  composi- 
tions, and  not  compositions  selected  because  of  their  special 
merit. 

No.  i.  GRADE  48,  SCORE  2.60  (WRITTEN  BY  A  GIRL,  AGE  n  YEARS, 
9  MONTHS) 

On  Christmas  my  uncle  came  on  a  visit.  He  gave  me  twenty  dollars  to 
spent.  I  planed  what  I  could  do  to  make  some  one  happy.  While  I  was  think- 
ing I  thought  of  some  poor  people. 

Which  had  five  children.  So  that  I  could  see  what  they  needed  most.  I 
went  and  played  with  them.  After  I  saw  what  they  needed  I  went  home.  And 
with  some  of  my  friends  I  went  up  town.  And  bought  five  pairs  of  shoes  for 
eleven  dollars,  five  dresses  for  six  dollars,  two  loaves  of  bread  for  twenty  cents, 
and  five  pairs  of  stockings  one  dollar  and  ten  cents  five  gloves  for  one  dollar 
and  seventy  cents.  So  not  I  was  the  only  one  happy  but  they  were  also  happy 
and  glad. 

No.  2.   GRADE  sB,  SCORE  3.69  (WRITTEN  BY  A  GIRL,  AGE  n  YEARS, 

7  MONTHS) 

The  other  day  as  I  was  playing  in  the  yard,  I  spied  something  in  the  grass 
which  looked  like  a  penny.  But  when  I  came  near  it  was  much  larger  and 
heavier. 

The  next  day  I  called  five  of  my  friends  in,  M — ,  D — ,  B — ,  A — ,  and  H — . 
I  told  them  to  get  ready,  and  we  would  go  to  Lagoon. 

At  last  we  were  ready  and  now  we  are  on  our  way.  The  train  stops  and  we 
get  of  ready  to  give  the  rest  of  our  ticket  to  the  door  tender.  I  have  spent  two 
dollars  already,  but  now  I  am  going  take  them  on  the  chutes  and  next  the  cenick 
railway.  We  must  not  forget  the  boats  and  the  little  train  and  merry-go-round. 

After  that  comes  the  lunch,  for  we  did  not  bring  any. 

After  that  we  must  all  play  some  kind  of  a  game,  and  win  a  little  poodle  dog. 
Next  the  doll  game  which  all  of  us  will  play  for.  The  fishing  game  is  the  game 
that  you  play  for  jewelry.  I  bought  a  vase  which  cost  six  dollars,  and  that 
was  the  prize  for  the  one  who  got  the  most  peanuts  after  they  were  hiden.  We 
have  ($5.40)  five  dollars  and  forty  cents  left  for  which  will  by  ($.40)  worth  of 
nuts  and  the  rest  will  be  for  carfare  home. 

No. 3.   GRADE  6  B,  SCORE  3.69  (WRITTEN  BY  A  BOY,  AGE  12   YEARS, 

9  MONTHS) 

I  have  friends  who  live  in  the  country.  Their  names  are  P —  C — ,  C — 
C ,  F—  C ,  R—  C ,  and  M — .C .  They  had  never  visited  the 


148          School  Organization  and  Administration 

city  One  summer  I  was  out  there.  I  allways  piled  with  questions  about  the 
city.  One  day  I  asked  them  how  they  would  like  to  go  back  with  me  and  see 
the  city.  They  were  so  delighted  that  they  could  not  keep  still.  In  P — 's  de- 
lightment  he  ran  into  the  cow  which  politely  lifted  in  the  air  and  set  him  on  top 
of  the  hay  stack.  The  next  day  we  started  for  the  city  about  noon  and  we 
reached  it.  The  minute  we  were  off  the  train  they  began  pointing  to  sky  scraper 
and  crying  excitedly.  Oh  isn't  it  a  tall  one.  F —  said  he  sposed  it  reached  to 
heaven.  While  C —  was  looking  at  one  of  the  tall  buildings  he  ran  into  a  man. 
We  went  into  a  resteront  a  had  a  good  dinner  which  cost  us  two  dollars  apiece. 
After  the  dinner  we  went  to  the  show  which  was  one  dollar.  M —  wanted  to 
know  what  made  the  trolley  cars  go.  We  went  for  a  ride,  we  rode  about  five 
miles.  It  cost  me  one  dollar  for  the  ride.  When  we  got  ready  to  go  home  we 
got  on  the  cars  and  found  out  that  I  couldn't  find  my  pocket  book.  We  walked 
all  the  way  home.  We  got  home  I  found  the  pocket  book  in  my  hat  R —  had 
put  it  there.  I  gave  the  four  dollars  for  their  home.  They  said  they  hadent  a 
better  time. 

No.  4.   GRADE  78,  SCORE  '4.74  (WRITTEN  BY  A  Boy,  AGE  14  YEARS, 

3  MONTHS) 

One  sunny  morning  in  May  my  five  cousins  who  where  on  their  way  to  see 
the  fair  at  Frisco  stopped  on  their  way  and  came  to  see  me.  My  father  gave  me 
twenty  dollars  to  intertain  them.  I  was  busy  thinking  of  the  best  way  to  do  it. 
I  finally  decided  to  go  to  the  Bingham  Copper  Mines.  This  was  satisfactory  to 
all  and  taking  along  a  lunch  we  started  off. 

When  we  got  there  it  was  noon  and  everybody  was  hungry  so  we  opened  up 
the  lunch  and  ate  until  there  was  not  a  crumb  left.  Next  we  hired  a  guide  to 
show  us  through  the  mines  and  what  a  sight  we  seen.  There  were  walls  of  dirt 
seemingly  covered  with  the  yellow  mettle.  Our  guid  showed  us  where  the  ele- 
vators were  on  which  they  sent  the  copper  to  the  top.  Next  he  showed  us  the 
donkeys  which  hauled  the  little  dump  cart  to  the  elevators.  After  taking  us 
trough  all  the  mines  he  showed  us  where  the  minors  lived. 

Here  our  journey  ended  after  each  buying  a  souvenir  we  departed  for  home 
each  one  satisfied  with  the  way  of  spending  twenty  dollars. 

No.  5.    GRADE  8B,  SCORE  5.85  (WRITTEN  BY  A  BOY.    AGE  ?) 

DEAR  J— . 

Two  days  ago  uncle  gave  me  twenty  dollars,  to  get  Christmas  presents  with. 
I  was  on  my  way  down  town,  to  get  them,  when  I  saw  two  ragged  little  boys. 
I  stopped  and  said,  to  them,  "Well  Johnny  what  are  you  going  to  get  for 
Christmas." 

"  I  aint  going  to  get  nothing  this  Christmas,  for  mamma  hasn't  got  any  money. 
Where  do  you  live,  "Across  the  street  in  that  wooden  house,"  answered  the  boy. 

You  take  this  five  dollars  over  to  your  mamma  and  then-  hurry  back  and  I 
will  take  you  up  town.  So  I  took  them  up  town,  and  got  them  some  warm 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       149 

clothes  and  then  took  them  to  a  show.  So  I  spent  fifteen  dollars  on  three  of 
them.  There  was  Mother  and  Father  left  so  I  got  father  a  shaving  set  which 
cost  three  dollars  and  a  half  and  I  got  Mother  some  Handkerchiefs  for  a  dollar 
and  a  half  which  took  all  my  money.  Merry  Christmas. 

Your  old  friend, 


H- 


SALT   LAKE   CITY  S    COMPOSITION    WORK 


But  little  data  can  be  offered  for  comparison,  but  such  as 
are  available  are  presented  in  Table  XIX.  From  this  table 
it  is  seen  that  in  every  grade  Salt  Lake  City  ranks  well 


TABLE  XIX 

COMPARING  SALT  LAKE  CITY'S  MEDIAN  COMPOSITION  SCORES  WITH  THOSE 
ATTAINED  IN  OTHER  STATES 


Median  Score 

Grade 

Salt  Lake 

Butte, 

Maryland  and 

Delaware 

Delaware 

City 

Mont.1 

N.  Y.  City2 

Co.,  Ohio 

CityJ 

VIII.    .   .    . 

5-4 

4.11 

3-94 

S-27 

vn  .  .  .  . 

4-4 

3-75 

5-75  to  7.0 

VI     .... 

3-8 

3-40 

V      .... 

3-i 

2.87 

S-I5 

IV     .... 

2.9 

2-34 

»  The  Butte  School  Suney,  p.  74. 

*  F.  J.  Kelly,  Teachers'  Marks,  Their  Variability  and  Standardization,  Col.  Univ.  Pubs.,  1914. 

*  Report  of  the  Ohio  State  School  Suney,  1914. 

above  Butte,  above  the  eighth-grade  rural  schools  of  Dela- 
ware Co.,  Ohio,  and  above  the  eighth-grade  children  of 
Delaware  City,  Ohio,  but  below  the  classes  in  Maryland  and 
New  York  City. 


CONCLUSIONS   AND   RECOMMENDATIONS 

It  should  be  said,  then,  in  conclusion : 

i.    That  while  the  schools  rank  fairly  well  as  compared 
in  Table  XIX,  yet  the  fact  that  some  classes  in  New  York 


150          School  Organization  and  Administration 

City  have  made  higher  scores  indicates  that  there  is  yet 
room  for  improvement.  There  were  individual  classes  in 
Salt  Lake  City  which  ranked  as  high  as  the  New  York  City 
classes,  which  shows  that  higher  standards  than  are  shown 
by  the  table  have  already  been  attained  by  some  schools  in 
the  city. 

2.  That  the  fourth  grade  which  ranked  low  in  spelling 
is  doing  superior  work  in  composition,  and  that  otherwise 
the  progress  has  been  about  equal  in  the  other  grades,  which 
indicates  that  there  is  in  general  a  common  standard  for  pro- 
motion in  English  work  throughout  the  city. 

3.  That  there  is  ample  evidence  that  classes  are  not  well 
graded,  when  so  large  a  number  of  fourth-grade  children 
are  doing  work  equal  to  that  of  the  average  eighth-grade 
pupils,  and  when  nearly  an  equal  number  of  eighth-grade 
pupils  rank  below  the  average  fourth-grade  pupil. 

4.  From  the  compositions  written  there  is  ample  evidence 
that  the  excellent  aims  for  English  work,  as  set  forth  in  the 
printed  course  of  study,  are  being  achieved,  and  that  many 
of  the  common  errors  of  teaching  the  formal  and  technical 
aspects  of  English  work  are  being  successfully  avoided. 

5.  It  is  recommended  that  a  portion  of  the  time  now 
devoted  to  formal  spelling  drill  be  given  over,  in  the  early 
grades,  to  the  broader  work  in  English,  and  that  by  the  use 
of  ungraded  rooms,  smaller  classes,  and  more  elastic  meth- 
ods of  promotion,  the  very  bright  and  the  very  dull  pupils 
be  given  more  adequate  attention  than  is  either  possible  or 
economical  under  the  present  classification. 


WRITING   IN    THE  SCHOOL   CURRICULUM 

Writing  is  taught  in  all  grades,  beginning  early  with  free- 
arm  work  at  the  blackboard,  gradually  taking  up  the  pencil, 
and  in  the  third  grade  the  pen.  .During  the  first  two  years 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       151 

an  average  of  50  minutes  per  week,  and  through  the  other 
grades  an  average  of  75  minutes  per  week,  is  given  to  the 
subject  (see  Table  XII,  page  77),  which  is  slightly  less 
than  has  recently  been  found  to  be  the  average  for  66 
American  cities.1  The  aim  in  teaching  writing  appears  to 
be  that  of  legibility  rather  than  mere  beauty,  and  the  in- 
structions in  the  printed  course  of  study  lay  appropriate 
emphasis  upon  the  hygienic  aspect  of  the  teaching  of  the 
subject. 

HOW    THE   WRITING   WAS    MEASURED 

The  test  was  given  to  the  same  classes  and  schools  as  were 
tested  for  spelling,  including  about  20  per  cent,  of  the  chil- 
dren in  the  elementary  schools  of  the  city.  For  this  test 
each  child  was  provided  with  a  blank  sheet  of  unruled  writ- 
ing paper,  at  the  top  of  which  were  printed  the  following 
brief  instructions  and  paragraph,  as  shown  here  : 

WRITE  THE  FOLLOWING  AS  WELL  AS  You  CAN  AT  YOUR  USUAL  SPEED.  Do 
NOT  WRITE  SLOWLY,  AND  Do  NOT  HURRY,  Bur  WRITE  JUST  AS  You 
WOULD  A  LESSON: 

After  this  the  squirrels  used  to  come  in  every  day,  and  when  she  put  corn 
in  her  hand  and  held  it  very  still,  they  would  eat  out  of  it.  Finally,  they  would 
get  into  her  hand,  until  one  day  she  gently  closed  it  over  them  so  that  Frisky 
and  Titbit  were  fairly  caught.  Oh,  how  their  hearts  beat!  But  the  good  fairy 
only  spoke  gently  to  them,  and  soon  opened  her  hand  and  let  them  go  again. 

These  were  given  to  the  children  by  their  teachers  just 
as  a  class  exercise,  and  when  finished  the  papers  for  each 
class  were  turned  over  to  the  principal,  who  forwarded  them 
to  the  principal  of  another  school  across  the  city,  whose 
teachers  scored  the  papers  by  use  of  the  Thorndike  scale  for 
measuring  handwriting.2 

1  Freeman,  Frank  N.,  in  the  Fourteenth  Year  Book  of  the  National  Society 
for  the  Study  of  Education,  Part  I.  Chicago  University  Press,  1915. 

*  Thomdike,  Edward  L.,  A  Scale  for  Measuring  the  Handwriting  of  Chil- 
dren in  Grades  5  to  8.  Published  by  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University, 
New  York.  For  full  explanation  of  how  the  scale  was  derived,  see  Teachers 
College  Record,  March,  1910. 


152          School  Organization  and  Administration 


RESULTS    BY    SCHOOLS    AND    BY    GRADES 

The  results  of  this  test  are  shown  in  detail  by  schools  and 
by  grades  in  the  following  tables  and  diagrams.  The  scor- 
ing is  done,  according  to  the  scale,  on  the  basis  of  4  to  18, 
instead  of  from  o  to  100.  The  reason  for  this  is  immaterial, 


TABLE  XX 

DISTRIBUTION  or  AVERAGE  SCORES  IN  PENMANSHIP  BY  SCHOOLS  AND  BY 

GRADES 


Grade 

Ill 

IV 

V 

VI 

VII 

VIII 

FOR  THE  CITY        

9.3 

10.7 

10.9 

11.2 

12.1 

13.1 

Emerson  School     .           .... 

0.6 

9.e 

i2.? 

IO.O 

12.4 

II-3 

Forest  School     

0.2 

IO.4. 

IO.2 

Q.O 

II.O 

13.2 

Grant  School      

8.2 

IO.I 

IO.Q 

IO.O 

10.4 

Hamilton  School        

II.  0 

IO.I 

II.? 

12.0 

12.? 

Jackson  School  

IO.7 

IO.7 

0.0 

10.? 

II.4 

IT.. 

Jefferson  School     ....... 

Q.C 

II.? 

II.? 

II.  ^ 

11.6 

Lafayette  School       

io.t; 

II.  2 

10.6 

IO.3 

12.2 

14.7 

Lincoln  School   

o.o 

0.2 

Q.O 

II. 

II.  2 

Lowell  School     

8.6 

10.6 

II.  7 

n.8 

14. 

14.6 

Onequa  School  

10.? 

ii.6 

IO.O 

Q.O 

12.2 

13.? 

Oquirrh  School      

8.7 

IO.7 

12.2 

I3-3 

12.  1 

Poplar  Grove  School     

n.C 

Q.8 

II.  3 

II.6 

12.4 

Riverside  School    

0.4 

12.7 

Q.8 

II. 

12. 

12.2 

Sumner  School  

IO.2 

I  ^.8 

12.4 

12.2 

12.7 

I'l.O 

Training  School     

7.1 

O.O 

0.8 

Q.6 

n.6 

12.? 

Wasatch  School     

12.7 

I?.4 

II.  2 

12.4 

12.3 

Washington  School       

8.0 

0.7 

Q.5 

IO.7 

II.  2 

Webster  School  

7.6 

II.  I 

10.7 

12.8 

12.8 

n.6 

Whittier  School     

9.1 

II.  7 

1  1.  4 

I2.O 

12.8 

14.7 

but  should  be  understood  in  order  to  interpret  the  following 
tables.  Remembering  that  4  means  practically  o,  and  that 
1 8  means  approximately  100,  the  reader  will  readily  under- 
stand Table  XX,  which  presents  the  average  scores  by 
schools  and  by  grades,  and  then  combines  these  for  the  city 
as  a  whole.  A  careful  study  of  this  table  shows  that,  judged 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       153 

by  grade  averages,  no  one  school  ranks  especially  low  or  es- 
pecially high,  though  the  Sumner  record  is  consistently 
above  the  average  for  the  city.  In  other  words,  the  differ- 
ences between  schools  are  nowhere  striking,  and  the  gradual 
rise  of  the  average  score  from  9.3  in  grade  three,  to  13.1  in 
grade  eight,  shows  evidence  of  uniformity  in  teaching  stand- 
ards throughout  the  city.  Since  there  is  little  uniformity 
with  respect  to  the  amount  of  time  assigned  to  this  subject 
in  the  different  schools,  it  is  of  interest  to  state  that  the 
school  which  makes  the  lowest  standing  in  the  test  is  de- 
voting nearly  one-third  less  than  the  average  amount  of 
time  to  the  subject.  A  pleasant  and  profitable  diversion  for 
each  principal  would  be  the  figuring  out  of  the  actual  time- 
cost  of  his  school's  achievement  per  unit  attained  on  the 
scale. 

VARIABILITY  AMONG  INDIVIDUALS  IN   THE  SAME  GRADE 

Averages  are  important,  but  do  not  tell  the  complete 
story,  and  the  reader  is  referred  to  Table  XXI,  which  shows 
the  entire  distribution  of  the  scores  attained  by  the  children 
of  each  grade,  the  number  of  samples  included,  and  the  rank 
of  the  median  sample.  These  facts  are  brought  out  clearly 
in  Figure  19,  which  shows  the  same  wide  variation  from  the 
average,  so  apparent  in  the  spelling  and  language  results. 
The  two  vertical  dotted  lines  inclose  the  records  of  all  the 
children  who  scored  between  8  and  17,  thus  showing  the  ex- 
tensive overlapping  between  grades  widely  apart. 

Since  the  instruction  in  writing  is  an  individual  rather 
than  a  group  procedure,  classification  of  children  on  the 
basis  of  this  subject  is  not  at  all  important.  But  teachers 
will  not  need  to  study  this  diagram  long  to  discover  that 
there  are  quite  a  number  of  third-grade  children  in  the 
schools  who  even  now  are  ready  for  the  eighth-grade  writ- 
ing classes ;  or,  vice  versa,  that  there  are  many  children  now 
in  the  eighth  grade  who  write  no  better  than  the  better 
writers  in  grade  three.  Assuming  that  all  have  had  approx- 


1 54          School  Organization  and  Administration 


TABLE  XXI 
THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  SCORES  ON  3,685  SAMPLES  OF  PENMANSHIP  BY  GRADES 


Score 

Grades;  Number  Making  Score 

III 

IV 

V 

VI 

vn 

VIII 

o     

3 
4 

21 

55 
85 
196 
46 

IO2 

44 
39 
ii 

4 
4 

5 
3° 
63 
175 
37 
152 
60 

IOI 

38 

12 

9 

4 

i 

3 
59 
U7 
23 
191 

65 
98 

4i 
15 
4 

i 

3 
3 
26 
117 
38 
53 
92 
87 
52 

20 
IO 

I 

2 

8 

70 

12 
I63 
91 
189 

68 
3i 

24 

2 
2 

28 

4 
97 
81 
84 
50 
35 
61 

IO 

22 

i     

2       

3 

4     

c 

6     

7 

8     

10     

ii     

12       

I? 

14       

15       

16     

17     

18     

No.  of  Samples      

616 

687 

646 

6O2 

662 

472 

Median  Score  for  Grade  .... 

9.2 

10.7 

II.O 

"•3 

12.2 

12.8 

imately  similar  training,  as  far  as  they  have  gone,  we  may 
reasonably  conclude  that  these  differences  are  largely  due  to 
differences  in  the  native  abilities  of  individual  children. 

However  true  this  may  be,  the  results  of  the  test  empha- 
size the  importance  of  making  provision  for  these  differ- 
ences by  further  individualizing  the  instruction,  and  by  pro- 
viding special  treatment  for  the  few  who  do  not  understand 
and  do  not  improve  under  ordinary  methods.  This  is  as 
economical  as  it  is  wise  from .  the  children's  standpoint. 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured 


155 


GRADE  30H 

MEDIAN*  12.  S 


I ' 

ySJ(          ' 


/4  15  /6il7 


FIG.  19.    SHOWING  THE  PERCENTAGE  OF  CHILDREN  WHO  ATTAINED 
EACH  OF  THE  POSSIBLE  SCORES 


(Thorndike  Scale) 


156          School  Organization  and  Administration 

Still  further,  if  third,  fourth,  and  fifth-grade  children  can 
•now  write  as  well  or  better  than  is  expected  of  the  average 
eighth-grade  pupil,  then  it  is  entirely  wrong  to  have  such 
children  spending  75  minutes  per  week  on  this  subject. 
Such  children  should  be  excused  from  formal  work  in  writ- 
ing, with  the  understanding  that  so  long  as  their  written 
work  shows  a  certain  quality  this  extra  time  may  be  used  on" 
other  studies.  Such  methods  of  saving  time  are  commend- 
able because  they  stimulate  those  children  to  do  their  best 
who  might  otherwise  merely  drift,  for  the  reason  that  it  is 
no  trouble  for  them  to  keep  ahead  of  their  classes. 


COMPARISON    WITH    OTHER    CITIES 

To  compare  the  results  of  this  test  in  Salt  Lake  City 
with  those  achieved  elsewhere,  comparable  data  from 
several  sources  have  been  brought  together  in  Table 
XXII. 

Here  the  median,  which  differs  very  slightly  from  the 
average,  has  been  used,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  the  schools 
of  Salt  Lake  City  rank  high  in  two  respects.  First,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  cases  in  the  seven  school  systems 
tested  by  Dr.  Stone,  no  schools  cited  rank  as  high ;  and  sec- 
ond, because  the  progress  from  grade  to  grade  is  much 
more  even  in  the  Salt  Lake  City  schools  than  in  most  of  the 
other  cases.  In  time  it  will  be  possible  to  standardize  the 
matter  of  progress  from  grade  to  grade.  Until  then  it  is 
fair  to  assume  that  a  reasonably  even  rate  of  progress  is 
more  nearly  normal  than  is  an  uneven  rate. 

HOW    WELL   THE  AVERAGE    CHILD   CAN    WRITE 

As  in  the  case  of  the  compositions,  there  is  presented 
here,  in  Figure  20,  a  sample  specimen  of  the  writing  from 
the  papers  in  each  grade  which  received  a  mark  approxi- 
mately that  of  the  grade  median.  Unfortunately,  to  repro- 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured,       157 


TABLE  XXII 

SHOWING  THE  COMPARATIVE  STANDING  OF  THE  SALT  LAKE  CITY  SCHOOLS  IN 
PENMANSHIP,  AS  JUDGED  BY  THE  MEDIAN  SCORE  FOR  EACH  GRADE 

(Thorndike  Scale) 


Grade,  and  Median  Score 

City 

II 

III 

IV 

V 

VI 

VII 

VIII 

Butte,1       

8.2 

8.0 

8.8 

8.0 

n.6 

II.  2 

12.  1 

Connersville,  Ind.2j  .    .    . 

10.3 

IO.O 

*-"y 

10.3 

11.7 

II.7 

I  1.0 

Southington,  Conn.3     .   . 

IO.O 

10.3 

10.3 

II.  I 

II.  2 

10.6 

II.  0 

Seven  School  Systems4    • 

"•3 

II.7 

12.7 

1  1.6 

13.0 

13.7 

13.0 

14.0 

SALT  LAKE  CITY 

9.2 

10.7 

n.l 

11.3 

12.2 

12.8 

1  Butle  School  Survey,  Chapter  IV. 

1  Wilson,  Writing  of  School  Children;  in  Elem.  Sch.  Tr.,  June,  1911  (1,200  children). 
*  Witham,  All  the  Elements  of  Handwriting  Measured;  Educl.  Admin,  and  Supv.,  May,  1915. 
4  Stone,  quoted  by  Thorndike.    Investigation  covers  seven  school  systems  and  about  3,000 
children.    Teachers  College  Record,  March,  1910. 

duce  them  on  the  printed  page  it  was  necessary  to  reduce 
the  writing  one-half  in  size,  which  detracts  from  its 
legibility. 

Selection  on  the  basis  of  the  median  means  that  there 
are  as  many  children  in  these  grades  in  Salt  Lake  City  who 
can  write  better  than  the  specimens  shown  in  Figure  20  as 
there  are  who  cannot  write  so  well. 

It  can  be  said  that  these  samples  fairly  represent  the  kind 
of  writing  which  is  now  being  done  by  the  average  children 
of  each  grade  in  the  city.  The  average  business  man,  before 
grumbling  about  the  writing  taught  in  the  schools,  will  do 
well  to  place  his  own  writing  by  the  side  of  either  of  the 
last  two  of  these  specimens  before  arguing  that  the  children 
of  the  public  schools  cannot  write.  It  is  true  that  some  of 


158          School  Organization  and  Administration 


GRADE      TTT 

JuAsJvuncl/ 
a*? 


GRADE 


GRADE 


GRADE 

FIG.  20.    SAMPLES  REPRESENTING  THE  MEDIAN  ACHIEVEMENT  IN  WRITING 
IN  EACH  GRADE 

(Reduced  J^  in  size) 

the  writing  was  done  with  a  cramped  hand,  and  that  it  is 
somewhat  childish  looking,  but  it  must  be  added  that  it  is 
easily  legible,  and  that  legibility  is  the  final  test  which  the 
world  puts  upon  writing. 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       159 


NEEDED    CHANGES   IN    INSTRUCTION 

i 

In  conclusion,  we  must  say  that  the  writing  work  in  the 
schools  of  this  city  is  well  up  to  the  standard;  that  in  the 
light  of  present  practice  this  work  is  being  accomplished 
in  a  reasonable  amount  of  time ;  and  that  the  basis  for  pro- 
motion in  the  different  schools  appears  to  be  equal,  but  that 
more  careful  individualization  of  instruction  for  the  lower 
five  to  ten  per  cent,  of  each  grade,  and  the  temporary  reliev- 
ing from  formal  training  of  those  who  are  several  points 
ahead  of  their  grades,  are  lines  along  which  the  schools 
may  look  for  even  greater  progress. 


4.    THE  TEST  IN  READING 

READING  IN  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY 

Almost  every  classroom  visited  by  the  members  of  the 
survey  staff  showed  evidence  that  the  point  of  view,  the  aim 
and  purpose,  and  the  general  method  for  teaching  reading, 
so  clearly  set  forth  in  the  printed  course  of  study,  are  being 
effectively  carried  out.  The  time  allotment,  which  varies 
from  50  to  more  than  900  minutes  per  week  between  classes 
in  the  city  (see  Table  XII,  page  77),  with  an  average  of 
from  200  to  375  minutes  per  week  in  the  different  grades 
—  and  the  constant  attention  to  home  as  well  as  school 
reading,  which  one  finds  in  every  classroom  —  give  evidence 
that  the  schools  of  the  city  have  not  underestimated  the  im- 
portance of  this  subject,  nor  the  fact  that  teaching  children 
how  to  read  is  but  incidental  in  teaching  them  to  read. 
Speed,  getting  the  meaning,  remembering  the  language 
used  —  that  is,  developing  vocabulary  —  and  that  clear  ex- 
pression which  is  evidence  of  appreciation,  all  are  ends  to 
be  sought  in  teaching  reading. 


160          School  Organization  and  Administration 


ENGLISH.     NORMAL  READING 

TEST  NO.    i.      SPEED  TEST 
(Copyrighted  by  S.  A.  Courtis,  1914) 

Bessie's  (Adventures,  Experiences,  Story) 


SCORE 

Number  of 


Words .... 

BESSIE'S  ADVENTURES 

No.  of 
Words 

Before  the  frightened  little  girl  could  decide  what  to  do,  the  dog  sat  up  18 

on  his  hind  legs  and  began  to  beg.  He  gave  another  impatient  little  "  Bow ! "  32 

but  this  time  his  bark  did  not  seem  so  sharp  and  terrifying  to  Bessie,  and  47 

her  fears  began  to  disappear.    "Why,  he's  really  a  cute  little  doggie,"  she  60 

thought,  and  sitting  up,  she  timidly  offered  him  her  bowl.   The  dog  needed  73 

no  second  invitation,  but  eagerly  lapped  the  milk  until  every  drop  was  gone.  86 

Bessie  set  the  empty  bowl  down  upon  the  doorstep  and  patted  the  little  99 

dog's  head.   He  in  turn  was  equally  friendly,  wagging  his  tail  and  trying  to  1 13 

lick  her  hand.    In  a  few  minutes  more  the  two  were  the  best  of  friends,  1 28 

racing  about  the  garden  in  a  wild  game  of  tag.    Sometimes  it  was  Bessie,  142 

laughing  and  screaming,  who  was  chasing  the  dog  this  way  and  that  in  and  156 

out  among  the  bushes  of  the  garden;  sometimes  it  was  the  dog,  barking  and  1 70 

jumping,  who  was  chasing  Bessie.    More  than  once  dog  and  girl  were  so  183 

much  in  each  other's  way  that  both  fell  down,  rolling  over  and  over  on  the  198 

soft  grass.   Not  for  a  long  time  had  Bessie  had  such  a  pleasant  playmate.  212 

They  were  on  the  front  lawn  now,  resting  a  minute  after  a  particularly  225 

wild  romp.    Suddenly,  through  the  pickets  of  the  fence,  the  dog  spied  a  cat  239 

crossing  the  street  outside.    Immediately  he  dashed  after  her,  squeezing  249 

between  the  pickets,  and  running  down  the  street  at  top  speed.    "Here,  261 

doggie,  doggie,"  the  little  girl  cried,  and  ran  after  her  playfellow,  only  to  be  275 

stopped  by  the  fence.  From  between  the  pickets,  she  could  see  both  the  cat  289 

and  the  dog  rapidly  disappearing  down  the  street.    Hot  tears  of  disap-  300 

pointment  welled  from  her  eyes.    She  hurried  to  the  gate  and  shook  it;  it  314 

was  securely  latched.    Could  she  open  it?    Many  times  before  had  she  325 

tried,  but  without  success.   Little  girls  grow,  however,  and  standing  on  the  337 

lower  part  of  the  gate,  and  stretching  to  her  utmost,  she  was  just  able  to  353 

press  her  little  fingers  against  the  latch.    Click,  and  the  gate  swung  open.  366 

Bessie  was  free  to  hurry  down  the  street.    The  cat  and  dog  had  disap-  379 

peared  around  the  corner  of  the  next  block.  386 

Name  .  Grade    . 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       161 


ENGLISH.    NORMAL  READING 
TEST  NO.   2.    MEMORY  TEST 


SCORE 


Time 

No.  Read 
No.  Right 


<•    Bessie's  (Experiences,  Adventures,  Story,)  Part  B 

Before  the  (terrified,  frightened,  poor)  little  girl  could  (decide,  think, 
know)  what  to  do,  the  dog  sat  up  on  his  hind  legs  and  began  to  (bark,  tease, 
beg).  He  gave  another  impatient  little  ("Bow!",  bark,  whine)  but  this  time 
his  bark  did  not  seem  so  (loud,  sharp,  harsh)  and  terrifying  to  Bessie,  and 
her  (fears,  terror,  distress)  began  to  disappear.  "  Why,  he 's  really  a  (nice, 
cute,  dear)  little  doggie,"  she  thought,  and  sitting  up,  she  (cautiously, 
timidly,  boldly)  offered  him  her  bowl.  The  dog  (wanted,  asked,  needed) 
no  second  invitation,  but  (eagerly,  quickly,  rapidly)  lapped  the  milk  until 
every  drop  was  (swallowed,  eaten,  gone). 

Bessie  set  the  empty  bowl  down  upon  the  (grass,  doorstep,  ground)  and 
patted  the  little  dog's  (head,  back,  neck).  He  in  turn  was  (very,  also, 
equally)  friendly,  wagging  his  tail  and  trying  to  (paw,  kiss,  lick)  her  hand. 
In  a  few  minutes  more  the  two  were  the  best  of  (comrades,  friends,  play- 
mates) racing  about  the  (grounds,  lawn,  garden)  in  a  wild  game  of  tag. 
Sometimes  it  was  Bessie,  laughing  and  (screaming,  dancing,  skipping)  who 
was  chasing  the  dog  this  way  and  that  in  and  out  among  the  (trees,  bushes, 
benches)  of  the  garden;  sometimes  it  was  the  dog,  barking  and  (squealing, 
jumping,  biting)  who  was  chasing  Bessie.  More  than  once  dog  and  girl 
were  so  much  in  each  other's  way  that  (they,  both,  each)  fell  down,  rolling 
over  and  over  on  the  (soft,  green,  cool)  grass.  Not  for  a  long  time  had 
Bessie  had  such  a  pleasant  (game,  frolic,  playmate). 

They  were  on  the  (front,  side,  back)  lawn  now,  resting  a  minute  after 
a  particularly  wild  (race,  game,  romp).  Suddenly,  through  the  pickets  of 
the  fence,  the  dog  (noticed,  saw,  spied)  a  cat  crossing  the  street  outside. 
Immediately  he  (ran,  dashed,  chased)  after  her,  squeezing  between  the 
pickets,  and  running  down  the  street  at  (top,  high,  great)  speed.  "Here, 
doggie,  doggie,"  the  little  girl  cried,  and  ran  after  her  (friend,  playfellow, 
companion),  only  to  be  stopped  by  the  fence.  From  between  the  (pickets, 
posts,  palings)  she  could  see  both  the  cat  and  the  dog  (gradually,  rapidly, 
slowly)  disappearing  down  the  street.  Hot  tears  of  (anger,  grief,  disappoint- 
ment) welled  from  her  eyes.  She  (hurried,  ran,  went)  to  the  gate  and 
shook  it;  it  was  (safely,  firmly,  securely)  latched.  Could  she  open  it  ?  Many 
times  (before,  yesterday,  halfheartedly)  she  had  tried,  but  without  success. 
Little  girls  grow,  however,  and  (resting,  standing,  stepping)  on  the  lower 
part  of  the  gate,  and  (reaching,  stretching,  pushing)  to  her  utmost,  she  was 
just  able  to  (press,  push,  touch)  her  little  fingers  against  the  latch.  Click, 
and  the  gate  (came,  was,  swung)  open.  Bessie  was  (free,  able\  quick)  to 
hurry  down  the  street.  The  cat  and  dog  had  disappeared  around  the  corner 
of  the  next  (street,  block,  square). 


162          School  Organization  and  Administration 


HOW    THE  READING   WAS   TESTED 

To  provide  a  test  by  which  we  may  be  able  to  make  a 
quantitative  statement  of  the  degree  of  efficiency  attained  by 
a  given  child  or  class  in  all  these  features,  is  in  large  part 
the  work  of  the  future.  A  simple  test  of  speed  and  of  ac- 
curacy of  memory  for  words  used  has  been  devised,  and  this 
was  applied  in  thirteen  schools. 

The  test,  which  is  printed  on  pages  160  and  161,  and 
which  is  known  as  the  Courtis  test,  consists  of  a  simple 
prose  story  which  the  children  were  asked  to  read  silently, 
with  as  great  speed  and  with  as  great  care  as  possible.  They 
were  told  that  they  would  be  permitted  to  read  a  certain 
length  of  time,  after  which  they  would  be  tested  to  see  what 
they  knew  of  the  part  they  had  read.  Exactly  one  minute 
was  given,  at  the  end  of  which  each  child  drew  a  ring  around 
the  last  word  he  had  read.  By  use  of  the  figures  on  the 
margin  the  number  of  words  read  in  one  minute  (the  child's 
speed)  was  quickly  ascertained  and  recorded  in  the  square 
at  the  upper  left-hand  corner  of  what  was  called  Test  No.  i. 

In  Test  No.  2  no  time  limit  was  enforced.  In  this  test 
the  same  story  was  used,  but  instead  of  the  subject  being 
"Bessie's  Adventures,"  we  have  "Bessie's  (Experiences, 
Adventures,  Story)."  This  same  idea  is  carried  out 
thoughout  the  body  of  the  story,  and  the  test,  which  is  a 
test  of  memory  for  words  used,  consists  in  checking  the  one 
of  these  three  words  (three  words  always  appear  in  italics 
inclosed  in  parentheses)  which  the  pupil  remembers  as  the 
word  he  read  in  Test  No.  I.  These  puzzles,  or  points,  as 
they  were  termed  in  the  explanation  to  the  children,  are 
numbered  on  the  margin,  as  were  the  words  in  Test  No.  i. 
When  the  child  had  checked  the  words  down  as  far  as  he 
had  read  the  story  in  Test  No.  i,  he  drew  a  line  around  the 
last  word,  and,  with  assistance,  recorded  in  the  proper  place 
the  number  of  points  he  had  read.  The  papers  were  then 
taken  by  the  teacher,  who  verified  the  count  made  by  the 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       163 

children  and  assembled  the  scores  for  her  class  on  a  record 
sheet  designed  for  that  purpose. 

While  the  children  were  reading  Test  No.  I,  they  did  not 
know  what  sort  of  test  was  to  follow.  The  two  pages  were 
printed  together  on  one  sheet,  but  in  such  a  manner  that 
when  reading  one  the  other  was  upside  down.  They  only 
knew  that  they  would  be  tested  on  what  they  had  read.  This 
would  naturally  have  the  effect  of  retarding  their  natural 
normal  speed  in  reading,  and  the  results  of  Test  No.  I  are 
therefore  more  nearly  comparable  with  the  tentative  stand- 
ard which  the  author  of  the  test  has  defined  for  "  careful 
reading."  This  combination  of  the  two  tests  seemed  more 
nearly  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  situation,  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  two  members  of  the  survey  staff  were  to  devote  some 
time  to  hearing  reading  recitations,  to  a  study  of  reading 
texts  and  courses  of  study,  and  to  methods  and  devices  in 
use. 

RESULTS   OF   THE  TEST 

The  results  of  these  tests  are  shown  in  the  following 
tables  and  diagrams,  and  the  reader  may  find  it  interesting 
to  try  his  own  rate  of  reading  the  selection  presented  above, 
in  comparison  with  the  results  here  shown  for  1,624  children 
in  thirteen  schools,  from  grades  five  to  eight  inclusive. 

Table  XXIII  shows  the  median  number  of  words  read  in 
one  minute  by  the  children  of  each  grade  and  school  tested. 
The  range  between  classes  is  from  148  to  287  words  in 
grade  eight,  from  178  to  293  in  grade  seven,  from  173  to 
246  in  grade  six,  and  from  159  to  239  in  grade  five.  The 
differences  between  schools  as  a  whole  are  not  specially 
marked.  Whether  a  foreign  language  in  the  home  increases 
the  difficulties  of  learning  to  read  English  is  perhaps  a  fair 
question.  Some  schools  have  no  children  from  such  homes, 
while  others  have  a  high  percentage  of  such.  Other  factors, 
such  as  a  large  percentage  of  children  from  homes  with  no 
facilities  for  stimulating  intellectual  ideals,  etc.,  probably 


164          School  Organization  and  Administration 

tend  to  make  slight  differences  between  community  or 
school  records  in  a  reading  test,  for  very  many  children  learn 
more  reading  at  home  than  they  learn  at  school. 


TABLE  XXIII 

SHOWING  THE  NUMBER  OF  WORDS  READ  PER  MINUTE  BY  THE  MEDIAN  CHILD 
IN  EACH  CLASS  TESTED 

(Courtis  Test) 


School 

Grade 

VIII 

VII 

VI 

V 

Forest    

213 

230 

219 

225 

230 

219 

293 
199 
213 

226 
219 

178 

215 

207 

206 

223 

219 

222 
213 
220 

173 
210 
206 
199 
2O5 
246 
239 

224 
214 

159 
179 

159 
203 

239 
203 
214 
159 

2O2 
I67 
190 

Grant    .... 

Hamilton      

Lafayette      

199 

Lincoln      

Lowell       

2IO 
I9O 
190 
199 
148 
217 
287 
239 

Onequa     

Oquirrh     

Riverside      .    

Sumner      

Training    

Wasatch    .    . 

Whittier    

VARIATION    BETWEEN    INDIVIDUALS 

The  variation  between  individuals,  however,  is  extreme, 
as  shown  by  Table  XXIV,  which  presents  a  complete  dis- 
tribution of  the  individual  scores,  by  grades.  This  table  also 
shows  the  median  score  for  each  grade,  and  the  tentative 
standard  which  Mr.  Courtis,  the  author  of  the  tests,  has 
established. 

Speed  in  reading  would  to  some  extent  depend  upon  qual- 
ity of  vision.  If,  as  is  shown  in  Chapter  XI  of  this  report, 
15  per  cent,  of  the  children  have  defective  vision,  we  could 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       165 


O   O 
C/5   * 


pjtjpuBjg 

8    to  O    O 
OO  NO     to 

PI       HI       HI       M 

ON    ON   PI     Ht 
UTJIPOIV         O     HI     HI     ON 

'                           PI      PI       PI      HI 

sjidnj 

IO  OO     PI      ON 
PI      M     PI     to 

Number  of  Words  Read  per  Minute 

O     ON                     ... 

HI 

O      ON 

PI    to 

P« 

O      ON 
Tf     IO 

.     HI     10 

O      ON 
NO      l>- 

O      CO    PI     to 

HI 

O      ON 

OO     ON 

IO    t^»    to  NO 
CO 

80> 
HI 
H     M 

HI       HI       PI       HI 
M      M      HI      CO 

O     ON 
PI     CO 

tO    ON  NO     10 
HI               PI      CO 

O     ON 
Tf    10 

to  oo    t-~  to 

CO    HI      PI      CO 

O     ON 
NO     t^ 

HI       HI 

PI     Tf  OO   NO 
Tf    to    to   to 

O     ON 
06     ON 
HI      HI 

10   t^   O    co 
to  to  Tf   to 

SON 
HI 
CM      <N 

10  O    O    P« 
Tf  i^  r^oo 

O     ON 
PI     CO 
PI     PI 

PI      HI    NO      ON 
CO    Tf    Tf     CO 

O     ON 

Tf     10 

PI     PI 

CO  NO      O       Tf 
PI      CO     Tf     PI 

O     ON 

\o  ***» 

M      <S 

NO       PI       10  NO 
PI      Tf     CO    PI 

&  8 
PI  PI 

Tf     t^     PI      Tf 
HI      PI      HI      HI 

8O\ 
M 

CO   CO 

tO    ON  NO      CO 
H      HI      HI      HI 

O     ON 
PI     CO 
tO   to 

ON    ON    Tf    10 

HI      HI 

O     ON 

Tf     IO 

CO   to 

CO     HI       Tf        . 

O     ON 

NO       *^ 

CO    CO 

IO     PI    OO       fO 

M 

O     ON 
OO     ON 
to  to 

ON    ON  NO     tO 

8  > 

Tf     0 

:  "°  :   : 

1 

o 

I-H 

H-l    — 

—     —     — 

VJ 

I 


«r 


nJ 

« 

z 


S  fc 

a  o 

cu    c£ 

^ 

|2 

o    ^ 


>H 
s 


98 

IB 


a  - 


B| 

a"g 

w   O 

W    M 

$& 

u 


§ 
X 


"*n»w 

O    to  to  t^ 

M      HI      O    NO 

PI    PI    PI    « 

sjidnj 

NO      f^    ON    f*~ 

Number  of  Words  Read  per  Minute  by  Typical  Classes 

O     ON 
M 

O      ON 
PI      CO 

O      ON 
Tf    10 

O     ON 

NO   r-- 

.      HI      PI 

O     ON 
00     ON 

.     <"> 

8     ON 
HI 
M      M 

Tf    M      PI      CO 

O      ON 
PI      CO 

HI      M 

M         .      HI      CO 

O      ON 
Tf    10 

—       M 

HI      HI     PI      CO 

O    O^ 

\O    t** 

t-t      M 

NO     lOVO      10 

o  o\ 
oo   o 

M      M 

Tf    IO    10    PI 

8  sr 
PI  pi 

Tf    t^OO      CO 

O      ON 
PI      CO 
PI      PI 

to  to  Tf   Pi 

O     ON 
Tf    10 
PI     PI 

PI      PI      p| 

PI     PI 

NO      PI      Tf     HI 

O     ON 

<S  p? 

HI      tO        . 

8  ? 

to  to 

HI          .      PI      HI 

O     ON 
PI     CO 
CO    CO 

.      HI 

O      ON 
Tf     10 

tO   to 

™          '.'.'. 

O     ON 

NO       f*** 

co   fO 

.        "-1        HI 

O      ON 
00     ON 

HI      CO       .      HI 

8  £ 

Tf     O 

^piuo 

OO     t^  NO     IO 

I 

H 

te  "3  '3    "5 

111! 

1 66          School  Organization  and  Administration 

expect  the  extreme  cases  from  that  group  to  produce  some 
low  scores.  As  an  illustration  of  the  wide  difference  in 
ability  to  read  rapidly,  which  was  found  to  exist  between 
children  in  the  same  class,  the  records  from  four  rooms  are 
shown  in  Table  XXV. 

Knowing  what  we  do  as  to  the  reaction  time  of  children, 
it  is  not  surprising1  to  find  these  differences.  It  is  important, 
however,  that  they  should  be  clearly  set  forth  here  for  the 
reason  that  these  very  differences  are  the  basis  of  important 
problems  in  method,  promotion  and  grading,  amount  of 
reading  to  assign,  etc.  Referring  to  this  table  again,  let  us 
ask  what  the  upper  ten  children  do  while  the  lower  ten  are 
reading  aloud  in  class.  This  is  concretely  what  is  meant 
by  the  statement  that  these  differences  constitute  impor- 
tant teaching  and  organization  problems.  Just  as  it 
is  good  method  for  a  teacher  to  demonstrate  good  read- 
ing to  her  class,  so  it  is  good  to  relieve  the  brighter 
children  of  the  necessity  of  droning  over  a  passage  in 
the  lesson  while  some  extremely  poor  reader  is  strug- 
gling through  it  word  by  word.  If  these  ten  children  are 
equally  good  in  expression  and  in  getting  the  meaning  out 
of  what  they  read,  they  should  recite  reading  in  some  higher 
grade,  for  they  certainly  do  not  have  to  study  where  they 
are. 

Reference  to  Table  XXIV,  with  these  points  in  mind,  and 
a  study  of  Figure  21  will  make  it  plain  that,  so  far  as  speed 
is  concerned,  one  could  not  judge  in  which  grade  any  single 
child's  score  might  appear.  It  will  be  seen  that  there  are 
only  seven  children  in  grade  five  whose  scores  are  below 
the  lowest  score  in  grade  eight,  and  there  are  no  scores  in 
grade  eight  which  are  above  the  best  five  in  grade  five,  and 
by  the  diagram  it  appears  that  all  children,  irrespective  of 
grade,  average  somewhere  near  200  words  per  minute  as 
their  rate  for  rather  careful  reading. 

As  compared  with  the  Courtis  standard  (see  Table 
XXIV)  all  grades  rank  high.  The  surprise  is  that  grade 
eight  ranks  between  grades  five  and  six.  For  comparative 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       167 


purposes  Figure  22  is  introduced,  which  indicates  the  rate 
at  which  these  passages  have  been  read  by  three  other 
groups  of  children.  The  showing  which  the  Salt  Lake  City 
schools  have  made  stands  well  above  these  records,  with  the 
exception  of  three  points  at  which  the  small  group  of  175 
children  surpassed  them.  This  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
Salt  Lake  City  ranks  well  in  point  of  speed  in  reading. 


1 68          School  Organization  and  Administration 

WORDS  PER  NAIN. 
400 


300 


200 


100 


175  CHILDREN  (AFTER  COURTIS) 

SALT  LAKE  CITY.  1624  CHILDRIN 

AFTER  COURTIS.  103  CLASS  MEDIANS 

AFTERCOURTIS.10GO  CHILDREN 

FIG.  22.   RATE  OF  READING  IN  SALT  LAKE  CITY  COMPARED  WITH  TESTS  MADE 
IN  OTHER  CITIES 


THE   MEMORY   TEST 

As  explained  above,  the  second  test  was  a  check  on  mem- 
ory of  what  had  been  read.  In  this  test  the  same  wide 
variety  of  results  were  found  to  appear,  and  are  shown  in 
Table  XXVI,  both  with  the  median  for  each  grade  and  the 
per  cent,  of  the  points  which  were  correctly  checked.  In 
the  per  cent,  correct  the  eighth  grade  stands  somewhat 
above  the  others,  but  the  seventh  grade  falls  below  the  sixth, 
none  averaging  far  from  three-fourths  correct.  In  Figure 
23  the  relation  of  the  amount  remembered  to  the  amount 
read  in  one  minute  is  clearly  shown.  By  the  solid  line  one 
sees  the  number  of  points  read,  and  by  the  dotted  line  the 
number  correctly  checked.  The  scale  at  the  bottom  shows 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       169 

the  number  of  points,  and  the  scale  on  the  left  indicates  the 
number  of  children  attaining  these  scores.  The  medians 
are  marked  by  vertical  lines,  solid  for  the  number  read,  and 
dotted  for  the  number  right.  It  is  regretted  that  there  are 


TABLE  XXVI 

SHOWING  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  POINTS  READ  AND  THE  NUMBER  WHICH  WERE 
REMEMBERED,  WITH  THE  MEDIAN,  AND  THE  PER  CENT.  CORRECT 

(Courtis  Test) 


Grade 

Points 

NUMBER  OF  POINTS 

I* 

<U  O 

Sen 

*J 

fl  *> 

0)    y 

0  g 

S   0 

IX,  U 

o 
4 

5 
9 

10 
14 

IS 
19 

2O 
24 

25 
29 

3° 
34 

35 
39 

40 
ovr 

VIII  .       .   . 

Read 
Right 
Read 
Right 
Read 
Right 
Read 
Right 

i 
3 

2 

7 

2 

5 

i 

13 
3 
19 

5 
57 

14 

49 
14 
58 
23 
85 
32 

IOI 

67 

122 

66 

152 

86 
146 

112 
133 

121 

78 
145 
IO4 

135 

94 
126 
60 

67 
35 
94 
4i 
77 
32 
57 
16 

29 
ii 

59 
15 

20 

18 

32 

2 

!3 

4 

22 

3 

20 
I 
12 

5 

12 

2 

II 

31 

3 

22.7 
18.0 
23-9 
17-4 
22.7 

17-5 

20.8 

15-5 

79-3 

72.8 
77.1 
74.0 

VII    

VI      

V    

no  available  data  with  which  to  compare  these  facts.  They 
may  stand,  however,  as  a  valuable  basis  for  later  tests  by 
teachers  and  supervisors  who  wish  to  measure  progress 
from  time  to  time  in  this  feature  of  reading. 


THE   PROBLEM    THE   SCHOOLS    MUST    MEET 

The  main  suggestions  that  grow  out  of  these  tests  of 
reading  are  that,  as  in  the  other  subjects,  the  real  genius 
in  the  schools  is  not  being  instructed  under  the  best  of  con- 
ditions. These  children  should  be  so  classified  that  they 
will  need  to  work  up  to  their  full  capacity.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  extremely  slow  pupils  shown  in  these  tests  should 


170          School  Organization  and  Administration 

be  receiving  special  instruction  which  cannot  be  given  eco- 
nomically in  the  ordinary  classroom  and  with  the  regular 
class.  Less  emphasis  needs  to  be  placed  upon  school  grades, 
and  more  upon  proper  classification  of  the  individual  child. 
Along  with  the  excellent  standing  which  the  city's  schools 


»lo. of  Tupl 


GRADE  3m 


42    4«     M      36    34     33.     3o     2»    26     24     22     20     /»       /&      /«      (2      /o       *       6       4       2        o 

FIG.  23.   RELATION  OF  SPEED  TEST  TO  MEMORY  TEST  IN  READING 

are  showing  in  these  tests  they  must  bend  their  energies  to 
this  problem  of  refining  the  teaching  adjustments  to  meet 
more  adequately  the  needs  of  individual  children.  So  far 
as  these  tests  go  they  show  this  to  be  an  immediate  and  a 
pressing  problem  in  instruction  and  internal  organization 
which  the  schools  are  now  facing. 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       171 

5.    THE  TESTS  IN  ARITHMETIC 
ARITHMETIC  IN  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY 

Arithmetic  is  taught  in  all  grades,  and  the  course  out- 
lined seems  in  the  main  in  keeping  with  the  best  thought 
on  this  subject.  The  degree  of  importance  which  attaches 
to  this  subject  in  the  schools  of  the  city  is  well  indicated  by 
the  amount  of  time  which  is  devoted  to  it.  The  amount 
varies  greatly  between  schools,  and  between  grades.  Some 
classes  are  spending  as  much  as  500  minutes  per  week  on 


TABLE   XXVII 
AMOUNT  AND  DISTRIBUTION  OF  TIME  IN  ARITHMETIC 


Grade   

i 

2 

2 

4 

e 

6 

7 

8 

Per  Cent,  of  Total  Time 

Proposed  Maximum 
Standard 

75 

IOO 

125 

ISO 

ISO 

150 

!5° 

170 

10.7 

SALT  LAKE  CITY 

50 

100 

225 

225 

250 

240 

250 

290 

14.3 

the  subject,  while  others  are  spending  but  20  or  30  minutes. 
The  approximate  average  ranges  from  50  minutes  per  week 
in  grade  one  to  290  minutes  for  grade  eight.  (See  Table 
XII,  page  77.)  Rather  extensive  investigation  of  this 
matter  has  led  to  the  recommendation  of  the  following 
grade  distribution  of  time  for  arithmetic,  with  which  that 
for  Salt  Lake  City  may  be  compared.1 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  arithmetic  is  receiving  more 
than  its  full  share  of  attention  in  the  city,  approximately 
14.3  per  cent,  of  the  school  time  being  devoted  to  the  sub- 
ject, whereas  this  investigation  supports  argument  for  but 

1  The  distribution  recommended  is  based  on  the  median  recitation-time 
expenditure  in  630  cities.  W.  A.  Jessup,  The  Fourteenth  Year  Book  of  the  Na- 
tional Society  for  the  Study  of  Education,  Ch.  VIH  (1915). 


172          School  Organization  and  Administration 

10.7  per  cent.  It  should  be  added  here  that  another  investi- 
gation has  shown  that,  of  twenty-six  cities  devoting  from 
7  to  22  per  cent,  of  their  school  time  to  arithmetic,  those  de- 
voting more  than  the  median  amount  for  these  twenty-six 
cities  ranked  very  little  higher  in  the  reasoning  test  reported 
below  than  did  the  cities  using  less  than  that  amount.1 

In  interpreting  the  following  results  in  the  tests  this  time 
cost  must  not  be  overlooked,  even  if  there  are  numerous 
cities  whose  time  allotment  for  arithmetic  is  equally  high. 

The  tests  in  arithmetic  covered  the  four  fundamental 
operations,  and  their  application  in  a  series  of  problems  in- 
volving a  test  of  the  children's  ability  to  reason.  The  first 
are  known  as  the  Courtis  Standard  Tests,2  and  the  second 
as  the  Stone  Reasoning  Tests.3 

HOW    THE  ARITHMETIC   WAS   TESTED 

The  following  instructions,  followed  by  typical  examples, 
illustrate  the  nature  of  the  tests  in  addition,  subtraction, 
multiplication,  and  division. 

There  were  more  examples  in  each  of  the  four  sets  than 
any  child  would  be  likely  to  work  in  the  time  allowed,  which 
was  8  minutes  each  for  addition  and  division,  4  minutes 
for  subtraction,  and  6  minutes  for  multiplication.  The  ex- 
amples were  all  printed,  and  the  necessary  oral  explanations 
were  made  by  the  member  of  the  survey  in  charge,  who 
timed  the  classes  and  instructed  teachers  how  to  score  the 
results. 

The  same  schools  and  classes  as  were  used  in  the  other 
tests  were  used  for  all  the  arithmetic  tests. 

The  reasoning  test  was  presented  to  the  child  in  the  form 
printed  on  page  175.  On  the  left  are  the  values  assigned  to 
the  problems,  each  of  which  has  been  carefully  standardized 

1  Stone,  C.  W.,  Arithmetical  Abilities  and  Some  Factors  Determining  Them. 
Teachers  College  Publications,  New  York,  1908. 

*  Courtis,  S.  A.,  Standard  Tests.    82  Eliot  St.,  Detroit,  Mich.,  1914. 

1  Stone,  C.  W.,  Arithmetical  Abilities  and  Some  Factors  Determining  Them. 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       173 

for  testing  purposes,  and  the  values  assigned  represent  the 
relative  difficulties  of  the  different  problems. 

No  credit  was  given  for  any  work  either  incompletely  or 
incorrectly  done. 


RESULTS   OF   TESTS   IN   THE   FUNDAMENTALS 

The  tables  and  diagrams  given  on  the  pages  which  follow 
will  show  the  results  of  the  tests.  Those  for  the  fundamen- 
tals are  represented  first,  and  then  those  for  the  reasoning 
tests. 

Table  XXVIII  shows  the  full  distribution  of  scores,  by 
grades,  for  each  of  the  subjects,  and  with  the  median  score 
attained  in  each  case.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  same  wide 
range  of  abilities  as  was  shown  in  the  other  tests  appears 
here  also,  and  in  each  grade.  The  nature  and  extent  of  this 
distribution  is  clearly  brought  out  in  Figure  24,  which  shows 
on  each  section  the  median  score  attained  by  each  grade. 

It  appears  that  the  median  child  in  the  seventh  grade  is 
not  as  far  ahead  of  the  median  child  in  the  sixth,  as  is  the 
sixth-grade  child  ahead  of  the  fifth,  or  the  eighth  ahead  of 
the  seventh.  In  the  matter  of  accuracy,  which  will  be  dis- 
cussed later,  this  difference  does  not  appear. 

From  this  test,  the  average  or  median  child  in  the  Salt 
Lake  City  schools  may  be  expected  to  work  examples  in  the 
fundamentals,  such  as  those  used,  at  the  following  rates 
(using  8  minutes  in  addition,  4  minutes  in  subtraction,  6 
minutes  in  multiplication,  and  8  minutes  in  division)  : 

If  in  grade  5,  he  can  add  4.1  examples,  subtract  5.2,  mul- 
tiply 4.3,  and  divide  3.0. 

If  in  grade  6,  he  can  add  6.4  examples,  subtract  7.8,  mul- 
tiply 5-3.  and  divide  5.5. 

If  in  grade  7,  he  can  add  6.9  examples,  subtract  8.8,  mul- 
tiply 7.1,  and  divide  7.7. 

If  in  grade  8,  he  can  add  8.8  examples,  subtract  9.8,  mul- 
tiply 8.3,  and  divide  9.5. 


174          School  Organization  and  Administration 


ARITHMETIC.     FOUR  FUNDAMENTAL  OPERATIONS 

(The  following  are  selected  examples  of  the  problems  given  the  children  to  solve  in  the  assigned 
time.  Four  printed  pages,  one  for  each  of  the  fundamental  operations,  were  used.  The  problems 
have  been  so  arranged  that  each  presents  the  same  degree  of  difficulty.) 

You  will  be  given  eight  minutes  to  find  the  answers  to  as  many  of  these  addition  examples  as 
possible.  Write  the  answers  on  this  paper  directly  underneath  the  examples.  You  are  not  expected 
to  be  able  to  do  them  all.  You  will  be  marked  for  both  speed  and  accuracy,  but  it  is  more  important 
to  have  your  answers  right  than  to  try  a  great  many  examples. 

927  297  136  486  384  176  277  837 

379  935  340  765  477  7»3  445  882 

756  473  5>88  524  881  697  682  959 

837  083  386  140  266  200  594  603 

924  315  353  812  679  366  481  118 

no  661  004  466  241  851  778  781 

854  794  547  355  7o6  535  849  756 

065  177  19*  834  850  323  157  222 

344  I«4  439  567  733  229  953  525 


You  will  be  given  four  minutes  to  find  the  answers  to  as  many  of  these  subtraction  examples  as 
possible.  Write  the  answers  on  this  paper  directly  underneath  the  examples.  You  are  not  expected 
to  be  able  to  do  them  all.  You  will  be  marked  for  both  speed  and  accuracy,  but  it  is  more  impor- 
tant to  have  your  answers  right  than  to  try  a  great  many  examples. 

115364741  67298125  92057352  113380936 

80195261  29346861  42680037  42556840 


You  will  be  given  six  minutes  to  work  as  many  of  these  multiplication  examples  as  possible. 
You  are  not  expected  to  be  able  to  do  them  all.  Do  your  work  directly  on  this  paper;  use  no  other. 
You  will  be  marked  for  both  speed  and  accuracy,  but  it  is  more  important  to  have  your  answers  right 
than  to  try  a  great  many  examples. 

8246  3597  5739  2648  9537 

29  73  85  46  92 

You  will  be  given  eight  minutes  to  work  as  many  of  these  division  examples  as  possible.  You 
are  not  expected  to  be  able  to  do  them  all.  Do  your  work  directly  on  this  paper;  use  no  other. 
You  will  be  marked  for  both  speed  and  accuracy,  but  it  is  more  important  to  have  your  answers 
right  than  to  try  a  great  many  examples. 

25^6775  94)85352  37)9990  86)80066 

(On  the  following  page  is  a  reduced  reproduction  of  the  sheet  given  each  pupil  for  the  reasoning 
test.  The  use  of  scratch  paper  was  permitted,  and  the  results  were  entered  after  each  problem  on 
this  sheet.) 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       175 


ARITHMETIC.     STONE  REASONING  TESTS. 
School Grade Name  of  Pupil 


Problem 
Value 


Problems 


i.o 
1.0 

i.o 
i.o 
1.0 


1.2 
1.6 


2.0 
3.0 


Solve  as  many  of  the  following  problems  as  you  have  time  for; 
work  them  in  order  as  numbered: 

If  you  buy  2  tablets  at  7  cents  each  and  a  book  for  65  cents,  how 
much  change  should  you  receive  from  a  two-dollar  bill? 

John  sold  4  Saturday  Evening  Posts  at  5  cents  each.  He  kept 
Yi  the  money  and  with  the  other  Yz  he  bought  Sunday  papers  at 
2  cents  each.  How  many  did  he  buy? 

If  James  had  4  times  as  much  money  as  George,  he  would  have 
$16.  How  much  money  has  George? 

How  many  pencils  can  you  buy  for  50  cents  at  the  rate  of  2  for 
5  cents? 

The  uniforms  for  a  baseball  nine  cost  $2.50  each.  The  shoes  cost 
$2  a  pair.  What  was  the  total  cost  of  uniforms  and  shoes  for  the 
nine? 

In  the  schools  of  a  certain  city  there  are  2,200  pupils;  H  are  in 
the  primary  grades,  %  in  the  grammar  grades,  YA  in  the  High  School 
and  the  rest  in  the  night  school.  How  many  pupils  are  there  in 
the  night  school? 

If  3.1  i>  tons  of  coal  cost  $21,  what  will  sH  tons  cost? 

A  newsdealer  bought  some  magazines  for  $i.  He  sold  them  for 
$i .  20,  gaining  5  cents  on  each  magazine.  How  many  magazines  were 
there? 

A  girl  spent  J£  of  her  money  for  car  fare,  and  three  times  as  much 
for  clothes.  Half  of  what  she  had  left  was  So  cents.  How  much 
money  did  she  have  at  first? 

Two  girls  receive  $2.10  for  making  buttonholes.  One  makes  42, 
the  other  28.  How  shall  they  divide  the  money? 

Mr.  Brown  paid  1A  of  the  cost  of  a  building;  Mr.  Johnson  paid 
Yt  the  cost.  Mr.  Johnson  received  $500  more  annual  rent  than  Mr. 
Brown.  How  much  did  each  receive? 

A  freight  train  left  Albany  for  New  York  at  6  o'clock.  An  express 
left  on  the  same  track  at  8  o'clock.  It  went  at  the  rate  of  40  miles 
an  hour.  At  what  time  of  day  will  it  overtake  the  freight  train 
if  the  freight  train  stops  after  it  has  gone  56  miles? 


Total  Score  Made  by  Pupil: 


Directions  to  Teacher: 

i.  Cross  off  the  problem  value  for  each  problem  not  correctly  solved  or  not  attempted  by 
the  pupil  named,  and  then  add  up  the  remainder.    This  will  give  the  score  earned  by  this  pupil. 


176          School  Organization  and  Administration 


TABLE  XXVIII 

SHOWING  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  CHILDREN  WITH  RESPECT  TO  THE  NUMBER 
OF  EXAMPLES  FINISHED 

(Courtis  Standard  Test) 
ADDITION   (Time  8  minutes) 


Ond* 

ll 

Hh 

Number  of  Examples  Worked 

Il 

o     I     2     3     4     5     6     7     8    9  10  II  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24 

vm 

VII 
VI 

V 

35° 
447 
416 
460 

8.8 
fir) 

13  24  36  32  57  39  60  38  32  28  22  13     9    9     I     I     I     .     i     

fi  1 

24  31  60  78  66  66  47  32  21  16  10     2     4    i       .     I   .     I     

4.1 

SUBTRACTION  (Time  4  minutes) 


.1 

Number  of  Examples  worked 

SB 

n 
ft 

o     i     2     3     4     5     6     7     8    g  10  ii  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  2324 

11 

vm 

351 

.     .     3     4    4  ii  27  33  36  44  50  32  26  18  14  10  17     7     7     3     .     i     3     .    i 

9.8 

VII 

437 

4     .     8    6  19  27  40  46  52  S3  63  42  30  is    8    S  10    3     2     •     2    i     .     i     . 

8.8 

VT 

423 

4    8  13  17  36  43  46  56  61  43  29  30  23     7     i     .     33     

T   S 

V 

460 

8  19  38  54  57  75  64  41  33  33  19  ii     3     2     i     .     I     .      .      .     i 

MULTIPLICATION  (Time  6  minutes) 


Grade 

3! 

££ 

Number  of  Examples  Worked 

11 

o     i     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9  10  ii  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  21  23  24 

vm 
vn 

VI 
V 

353 
443 
412 
458 

i     i     4    3    ii  29  38  59  37  42  33  29  24     7  ii  ii     7     i     2     i     .      .     3     .      . 
i     7  19  22    31  50  59  59  69  47  37  20  ii     252     .     2     

8-3 

10    9  20  51    54  76  68  30  40  20  17  10     5     i     .     i     

10  18  50  77  102  83  53  26  16  16    3     3     .     i     

DIVISION   (Time  8  minutes) 


~F 

Number  of  Examples  Worked 

?„ 

H 

Hi 

o    i     2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9  10  ii  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24 

& 

vm 

352 

2     I     2     3  17  19  26  37  33  38  31  36  41  19  ii  15     6    4     5     4     I     .      .     i     . 

9-S 

VII 

450 

4  14  16  26  30  43  37  40  45  44  40  26  36  21  10    6    4     3     2     i     2     .      .     .     . 

7-7 

VI 

122 

10  23  30  45  49  52  49  44  32  33  18  13  14     7     i     i     i     

<;  if 

V 

457 

42  72  78  81  79  45  29  20    6     2     2     .      .     i     

3-0 

The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured,       177 


r  , i  i  i  i  i 


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178          School  Organization  and  Administration 


WIDELY   DIFFERENT   RESULTS    IN   DIFFERENT   SCHOOLS 

The  full  details  of  this  are  shown,  for  the  fourteen  schools 
tested,  by  Table  XXIX,  which  gives  the  score  of  the  median 
child  in  each  grade  and  in  each  subject,  combining  them  for 
the  city  as  a  whole  at  the  bottom  of  the  table. 

From  this  table  it  appears  that  there  is  a  wide  difference 
between  schools.  In  addition,  we  find  a  range  in  grade  five 
of  from  2.8  to  6.5,  in  grade  six  from  2.5  to  9.3,  in  grade 
seven  from  3.7  to  9.9,  and  in  grade  eight  from  5.3  to  10.0. 
In  the  other  subjects  the  range  is  approximately  the  same. 
It  is  interesting  to  add  that  in  three  of  the  four  grades  tak- 
ing the  additional  test,  those  classes  which  made  the  highest 
standing  are  using  exactly  the  same  number  of  minutes  per 
week  on  arithmetic  as  are  the  classes  which  made  the  lowest 
standing. 

If  the  amount  of  time  used  on  the  subject  does  not  ac- 
count for  the  wide  differences  which  this  table  reveals,  and 
apparently  it  does  not,  then  this  would  seem  to  be  a  condi- 
tion worthy  of  study  by  principals  and  supervisors.  Just 
what  ought  to  be  accomplished  in  a  given  grade,  with  a 
given  time  allotment,  is  a  question  which  can  well  be  raised 
in  connection  with  each  of  the  subjects  presented  in  this 
chapter.  Every,  city  system  of  schools  should  have  stand- 
ards of  its  own  for  every  subject,  which  each  school  should 
strive  to  approximate.  These  standards  need  not  be  identi- 
cal with  those  in  other  cities,  but  should  be  determined  by 
the  relative  importance  of  the  different  subjects  for  a  given 
community.  The  same  principle  will  justify  slight  varia- 
tions in  those  standards  for  different  schools,  as  they  rep- 
resent varying  types  of  community  life  within  a  city.  This 
table,  however,  reveals  extremely  wide  differences,  which 
conditions  in  Salt  Lake  City  do  not  seem  to  warrant.  A 
reasonable  uniformity  in  results  is  as  desirable  as  is  a  whole- 
some lack  of  uniformity  in  methods  of  getting  those  results. 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       179 


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180          School  Organization  and  Administration 


COMPARISON    WITH   OTHER    CITIES 

To  measure  the  results  achieved  in  Salt  Lake  City  with 
similar  results  attained  in  other  cities,  Table  XXX  is  pre- 
sented. Here  the  relative  standings  of  Detroit,  Boston,  a 
group  of  smaller  cities,  called  "  other  cities,"  Butte,  and 
Salt  Lake  City  are  placed  side  by  side  for  each  of  the  four 
subjects.  These  results  are  absolutely  comparable,  and 


TABLE  XXX 

THE  STANDING  or  SALT  LAKE  CITY  IN  THE  FUNDAMENTALS  OF  ARITHMETIC, 
AS  COMPARED  WITH  OTHER  CITIES,  JUDGED  BY  THE  MEDIAN  SCORE  AT- 
TAINED BY  EACH  GRADE 


ADDITION 


MULTIPLICATION 


V 

VI 

VII 

VIII 

V 

VI 

vn 

VIII 

3-9 

4.6 

5-4 

6-7 

Detroit  (Jan.,  1914) 

3.8 

4.8 

6.0 

7-5 

3-7 
3-9 

4-9 

4.4 

5-6 
4-7 

7-9 
5-6 

Boston  (Jan.,  1914) 
Other  Cities 

3-3 
2.6 

4.8 
4-5 

5-i 
5-a 

6-5 
6.4 

2-9 

3-4 

si 

5-3 

Butte  (May,  1914) 

4.1 

5-0 

6.S 

8.1 

4.1 

6.4 

6.9 

8.8 

SALT  LAKE  CITY 

4.3 

5.3 

7.1 

8.3 

SUBTRACTION 


DIVISION 


5-5 

6.2 

7-3 

9-5 

Detroit  (Jan.,  1914) 

2.7 

4-4 

7-1 

8.8 

4.9 

6.S 

6.9 

8.6 

Boston  (Jan.,  1914) 

2.0 

3-3 

5-1 

6.Q 

4-5 

6.1 

7.8 

8.4 

Other  Cities 

2-3 

4-3 

S.8 

6-3 

2.Q 

5.2 

3-4 
7.8 

3-8 
8.8 

5-3 
9.8 

Butte  (May,  1914) 
SALT  LAKE  CITY 

3-6 
3.0 

4-3 
5.5 

?:? 

IO.2 

9.5 

show  that  the  Salt  Lake  City  schools  stand  well  ahead  in  all 
grades  in  addition  and  multiplication,  in  two  grades  in  sub- 
traction, and  in  two  grades  in  division.  Nowhere  are  the 
Salt  Lake  City  schools  more  than  .7  of  one  score  behind 
the  best.  Figure  25  presents  these  data  graphically,  and  by 
following  the  dotted  line  across  from  each  of  the  grades  it 
will  be  seen  that  in  many  cases  Salt  Lake  City  is  from  one- 
half  to  a  full  grade  ahead  of  other  cities,  rarely  being  sur- 
passed by  any  except  Butte.  This  is  perhaps  an  enviable 
record,  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  above  refer- 
ence to  individual,  class,  and  school  records  leaves  much  to 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       181 


BOSTON         OTHER  CITIU       BUTTE  3J1.T  LAKE  CXTf 


1 82          School  Organization  and  Administration 

accomplish  by  way  of  finer  internal  organization  and  more 
careful  individualized  instruction.1 


ACCURACY   IN    USE   OF   NUMBER   COMBINATIONS 

The  above  has  dealt  only  with  examples  correctly  worked, 
and  does  not  show  how  many  were  attempted,  or  for  which 
incorrect  answers  were  given;  that  is,  how  dependable  the 
figuring  of  the  children  really  is.  A  typical  illustration  of 
the  distribution  of  attempts  is  shown  in  Table  XXXI, 
which  gives  the  number  of  addition  examples  attempted  by 
each  grade,  the  median  number  attempted,  and  finally  the 
per  cent,  which  the  median  number  correctly  worked  is  of 

1  Subsequent  to  the  publication  of  the  original  report  of  this  survey,  the 
January,  1915,  scores  for  Detroit,  Boston,  and  "Other  Cities"  have  been  de- 
termined; also  interesting  data  for  groups  of  cities  in  Kansas,  Iowa,  and  In- 
diana. These  data  are  presented  here  partly  to  show  that  Salt  Lake  City 
still  has  room  for  improvement.  The  following  table  contrasts  strongly  with 
Table  XXX,  and  shows  that  marked  recent  progress  has  been  made,  doubt- 
less as  a  result  of  the  use  of  these  scientific  tests: 

TABLE  XXX  a 

SUPPLEMENTARY  TABLE,  SHOWING  STANDING  OF  SALT  LAKE  CITY  IN  THE  FUN- 
DAMENTALS OF  ARITHMETIC,  COMPARED  WITH  OTHER  CITIES,  AND  BASED 
ON  MORE  RECENT  DATA 


ADDITION 


MULTIPLICATION 


V 

VI 

VII 

VIII 

V 

VI 

VII 

VIII 

5-7 

7.0 

7-5 

9-4 

Detroit  (May,  1915) 

fJ 

7.2 

7-8 

9.8 

6.6 

fcj 

9.0 

10.4 

Boston  (May,  1915) 

5-6 

7.2 

8.2 

9-3 

v6 

5-4 

6-3 

7-1 

Other  Cities  (May,  1915) 

4.0 

5-8 

8.6 

8-5 

3-0 

3-9 

4.8 

5-4 

Kansas  (Jan.,  1915) 

3-1 

4-7 

5-9 

8.H 

S-2 

5-7 

6.6 

7-5 

Iowa  (June,  1915) 

S-6 

6-7 

8.2 

9-5 

3-6 

4.1 

4-4 
6.4 

4.9 
6.9 

S-8 
8.5 

Indiana  (May,  1915) 
SALT  LAKE  CITY 

3-9 
4.3 

5-i 
5.3 

5-9 

7-3 
8.3 

SUBTRACTION 


DIVISION 


14 

8.6 

9.9 

13.5 

Detroit  (May,  1915) 

4-6 

7-3 

9.0 

11.7 

7-7 

9-5 

10.3 

ri.8 

Boston  (May,  1915) 

4.9 

7-4 

8.8 

II.O 

5-6 

7-3 

8.9 

10.3 

Other  Cities  (May,  1915) 

3-7 

5-7 

6.7 

9-3 

4.0 

5-9 

7.2 

7-7 

Kansas,  (Jan.,  1915) 

2.O 

3-5 

5-3 

7.2 

7.0 

8.0 

9.2 

ii.  i 

Iowa  (June,  1915) 

5-o 

6-3 

8.0 

10.9 

S-o 

6-5 

7-9 

8.9 

Indiana  (May,  1915) 

2.6 

4.8 

6-7 

9-1 

5.2 

7.8 

8.8 

9.8 

SALT  LAKE  CITY 

3.0 

5.5 

7.7 

9.5 

The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       183 


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184          School  Organization  and  Administration 

the  median  number  attempted.     That  is,  the  per  cent,  of 
accuracy. 

In  the  matter  of  accuracy  thus  measured,  Table  XXXII 
compares  the  schools  of  Salt  Lake  City  with  those  of  BOS- 


TABLE  XXXII 

SHOWING  THE  MEDIAN  NUMBER  OF  EXAMPLES  TRIED  AND  THE  MEDIAN  NUM- 
BER CORRECTLY  WORKED  IN  THE  SALT  LAKE  CITY  SCHOOLS,  AND  THE  PER 
CENT,  or  EXAMPLES  TRIED  WHICH  WERE  CORRECTLY  WORKED  IN  SALT 
LAKE  CITY,  AS  COMPARED  WITH  OTHER  CITIES 


Salt  Lake 

Per  Cent,  of  Examples  Correctly 

City  Median 

Worked 

Subject 

Grade 

At- 
tempt 

Rights 

Salt 
Lake 

City 

Bos- 
ton1 

De- 
troit1 

20 
Ind. 
Cities2 

24 
Kas. 
Cities8 

VIII 

9-9 

8-5 

88.8 

70.9 

6S.7 

56.8 

7i 

Addition 

VII 

9.1 

6.9 

75-8 

60.8 

59-8 

60.5 

67 

VI 

7-9 

6.4 

81.0 

S9-o 

54-7 

59-4 

65 

V 

6.9 

4.1 

56.9 

Si-4 

58.2 

54-5 

52 

VIII 

n.8 

9.8 

83-1 

75-4 

77-2 

68.5 

86 

Subtraction 

VII 

IO.I 

8.8 

87.1 

69.0 

74-5 

73-0 

83 

VI 

8-5 

7-8 

91.7 

70.0 

70.4 

76.4 

81 

V 

7-5 

5-2 

69-3 

64.4 

68.7 

79-5 

63 

VIII 

10.8 

8-3 

76.8 

68.4 

71.4 

61.9 

82 

Multiplication 

VII 

8.6 

7-i 

82.5 

63-8 

62.5 

67.1 

78 

VI 

7-7 

5-3 

66.8 

69-S 

64.8 

68.6 

77 

V 

6.6 

4-3 

65.1 

S6.8 

59-3 

7I-S 

57 

VIII 

10.3 

9-5 

92.2 

77.1 

854 

57-8 

92 

Division 

VII 

8.7 

7-7 

88.5 

73-9 

82.5 

84.2 

87 

VI 

6.7 

5-5 

82.1 

56.9 

68.7 

78.8 

84 

V 

4-4 

3-0 

68.2 

44-4 

SS-i 

85.8 

53 

1  January,  1914,  scores. 

1  Indiana  University  Bulletin,  Vol.  XII,  No.  i8,_  March,  1913.  These  figures  represent  the 
record  attained  by  the  median  city  of  the  twenty  cities  studied.  A  cooperative  study,  directed 
by  Professor  M.  E.  Haggerty. 

3  Report  of  the  Use  of  the  Courtis  Standard  Tests  in  Arithmetic  in  Twenty-four  Kansas  Cities, 
Bulletin  No.  4,  Kansas  State  Normal  School.  Reported  by  Walter  S.  Monroe. 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       185 

ton,  Detroit,  and  twenty  cities  in  Indiana  recently  tested. 
The  median  attempts  and  the  median  rights  are  shown  for 
Salt  Lake  City,  the  rights  being  divided  by  the  attempts  to 
ascertain  the  per  cent,  of  accuracy.  Here  again  Salt  Lake 


DETROIT 


SALT  LAKE 
CITY 


20  CITIES 
IN  INDIANA 


FIG.  26.    RELATIVE  ACCURACY  m  ADDITION 

City  stands  high.  In  accuracy  the  city  is  surpassed  any- 
where in  addition  in  but  one  grade  out  of  the  four  tested ; 
in  subtraction  in  but  two  grades ;  in  multiplication,  by  three 
grades ;  and  in  division  by  three.1 

A  graphic  illustration,  fully  typical  of  the  results  in  this 

1  In  the  more  recent  tests,  the  results  for  which  are  given  in  Supplementary 
Table  XXX  a,  both  Boston  and  Detroit  have  raised  their  per  cent,  of  accuracy 
materially. 


1 86          School  Organization  and  Administration 

table,  is  shown  in  Figure  26,  where  Salt  Lake  City  is  com- 
pared with  Detroit  and  the  twenty  Indiana  cities  in  respect 
to  accuracy  in  addition. 

It  is  clear,  then,  that  Salt  Lake  City,  as  compared  with 
other  cities,  is  achieving  nothing  short  of  excellent  results  in 
the  fundamentals  of  arithmetic,  and  that  not  only  with  re- 
spect to  the  number  of  examples  worked  in  a  given  amount 
of  time,  that  is,  speed,  but  also  in  respect  to  the  degree  of 
accuracy  with  which  this  work  is  done.1 


THE  REASONING   TEST 

Where  reasoning  is  involved,  the  test  is  not  only  one  of 
correct  use  of  number  combinations,  but  also  one  of  analyz- 
ing simple  arithmetical  problems.  In  this  test  the  children 
of  Salt  Lake  City  again  rank  high.  The  distribution  of 
individual  scores  is  set  forth  in  Table  XXXIII,  which 
shows  also  the  achievement  for  the  median  child  of  each 
grade.  These  facts  are  presented  graphically  in  Figure  27. 

Here  the  same  wide  variability  as  has  appeared  in  other 
tests  is  again  evident.  In  grade  five  there  were  fifteen  chil- 
dren who  could  not  solve  one  of  the  seventeen  problems  set 
for  the  test,  while  more  than  sixty  children  solved  seven  or 
more.  In  grades  seven  and  eight  the  variability  is  still 
wider.  In  order  to  show  that  this  is  fully  typical  of  the  con- 
dition existing  in  almost  every  individual  class,  Table 
XXXIV,  presenting  the  exact  scores  made  by  one  class  from 
each  grade,  is  given. 

On  the  basis  of  these  facts  we  must  again  ask  how  a 
lesson  can  be  assigned  to  such  classes  so  that,  on  the  one 
hand,  it  is  not  so  difficult  as  to  be  impossible  for  the  children 

1  Mr.  Courtis  has  shown,  by  a  recent  investigation  (see  Fifteenth  Yearbook 
of  the  National  Society  for  the  Study  of  Education,  Pt.  I,  91-106)  covering  a  test 
of  242  adults,  including  laborers,  stenographers,  teachers,  saleswomen,  office 
employees,  superintendents,  and  high-wage  men  of  independent  means,  that 
the  practical  demands  of  life  are  for  a  speed  and  accuracy  about  equivalent  to 
eighth-grade  standard  achievement. 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       187 


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1 88          School  Organization  and  Administration 


"HI  3fflE-MEDIANS 


SCORE:  024     6     Z     10   12    14    16 


FIG.  27.    DISTRIBUTION  OF  RESULTS  IN  THE  STONE  REASONING  TEST 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       189 

at  one  extreme  of  this  table,  or  on  the  other  hand  so  easy 
as  to  be  a  mere  bore  to  the  children  at  the  other  extreme. 
iHere  it  is  not  a  question  of  high  average  results,  for  these 
are  high  enough;  it  is  one  of  refining  organization  and  in- 
struction to  the  end  that  children  of  extremely  high  and  ex- 
tremely low  abilities  will  not  constitute  handicaps  for  each 
other. 

The  improvement  from  grade  to  grade,  as  is  shown  in 
Figure  27,  seems  all  that  could  be  desired,  and  Table  XXXV 
shows,  with  some  exceptions  in  grade  five,  a  fair  degree  of 
uniformity  of  results  between  schools. 

These  facts  seem  to  argue  that  the  schools  have  a  clear 
notion  of  what  is  to  be  attained  by  each  grade,  but  that 
they  are  getting  results  only  in  terms  of  class  averages  and 
at  the  expense  of  right  classroom  conditions.  By  giving 
attention  to  these  inner  details  Salt  Lake  City  can  raise  the 
excellent  standards  she  has  already  achieved. 


COMPARISON    WITH   OTHER   CITIES   IN   REASONING   TEST 

The  author  of  this  reasoning  test  has  presented  the  rec- 
ords made  by  the  sixth  grade  in  twenty-six  different  cities. 
Add  to  these  the  records  of  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  Springfield, 
111.,  and  Salt  Lake  City,  and  Salt  Lake  City  stands  ninth 
from  the  top  of  the  list.  The  highest  score,  based  on  the 
score  per  each  ico  pupils,  attained  by  any  one  of  these 
twenty-nine  cities  was  914;  the  lowest  was  356.  That  for 
Salt  Lake  City  was  646. 

As  compared,  grade  by  grade,  with  the  results  in  Butte, 
Salt  Lake  City's  median  fifth-grade  child  can  solve  1.5  more 
problems  of  this  test  than  can  the  median  fifth-grade  child 
of  Butte ;  the  sixth-grade  child  of  Salt  Lake  City  can  solve 
2.5  more;  the  seventh-grade  child  2.8  more;  and  the 
eighth-grade  child  2.8  more. 

From  these  results  it  is  clear  that  the  schools  of  this  city 
rank  high  in  the  ability  of  their  children  to  reason.  It  is 


i go          School  Organization  and  Administration 


TABLE  XXXV 

SHOWING  THE  AVERAGE  SCORE  ATTAINED  BY  CLASSES  IN  THE  VARIOUS  SCHOOLS 
IN  THE  REASONING  TEST  IN  ARITHMETIC 

(Stone  Test) 


School 

Grade 

VIII 

VII 

VI 

V 

TOTAL  FOR  CITY    

10.5 
9-3 

8.6 
10.6 
7-7 

8.2 

8.3 

10.8 
8.6 

9-5 
8.9 
7-6 

10.0 

7.8 
8.0 
10.4 

6.4 
6.6 
7-4 
5-4 
6-5 
4.1 

7-4 

6.2 

7.6 
5-3 

6.2 

4.8 
7.2 

5-9 
7.0 

3.7 
2.9 
4.6 
4.6 
4.0 

2.2 

4.8 

3-2 

4-6 
3-3 
4-4 
4-4 
3-4 
4-i 
5-5 

Forest    

Grant    

Hamilton      

Lafayette     

11.7 

Lincoln      

Lowell       

10.6 
9.1 

Onequa     

Oquirrh     

Riverside      '. 

9-7 

Sumner     

Training    

9.0 

Wasatch    

Webster    

10.2 

14-5 

Whittier    

also  true,  as  stated  above,  that  the  present  problem  is 
one  of  perfecting  the  details  of  class  organization  and 
instruction. 


6.    SUMMARY  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS 

This  chapter  has  not  dealt  with  the  quality  of  instruction 
in  general,  but  only  as  quality  has  been  revealed  by  actual 
results,  stated  in  terms  of  standardized  tests.  It  is  there- 
fore concerned  with  the  causes  of  poor  or  excellent  quality, 
only  as  the  data  with  which  it  deals  make  these  causes 
evident. 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       191 

CONCLUSIONS 

In  so  far  as  the  results  found  have  shown  that  the  schools 
are  controlling,  with  good  effect,  those  main  factors  which 
were  enumerated  at  the  outset  of  the  chapter  as  being  prin- 
cipally responsible  for  the  quality  of  instruction,  those  re- 
sults have  been  commended.  On  the  other  hand,  where 
the  schools  are  clearly  not  exercising  such  control,  the  nature 
of  such  failure  has  been  pointed  out,  and  the  responsibility 
placed.  It  is  only  necessary  to  summarize  the  findings  here, 
and  further  to  emphasize  the  lines  along  which  improve- 
ments and  further  progress  should  be  sought. 

1.  It  should  first  of  all  be  said  that  Salt  Lake  City  ranks 
high  among  cities  of  her  class,  in  each  of  the  five  studies  in 
which  tests  were  given.     The  comparison  being  made  in 
terms  of  average  attainment. 

2.  In  spelling,  so  large  a  percentage  of  children  made  a 
perfect  score  that  full  interpretation  of  the  results  is  diffi- 
cult.   The  city's  average  standing  being  16  per  cent,  above 
the  standard. 

3.  In  spelling,  language,  writing,  and  the  fundamentals 
of  arithmetic,  wide  differences  exist  between  the  results 
shown  for  different  schools.     Foreign  languages  at  home 
may  partly  account  for  such  differences,  particularly  in  com- 
position.    There  is  a  limit,  though,  to  which  even  such 
causes  should  be  permitted  to  modify  the  school  standards. 
If  a  child  is  doing  fifth-grade  language  work,  he  should  not 
ordinarily  be  classed  as  an  eighth-grade  pupil. 

4.  The  differences  between  grades  are,  with  few  excep- 
tions, approximately  what  they  should  be. 

5.  The  range  of  abilities  in  any  given  grade  is  entirely 
too  great,  as  judged  by  all  of  the  five  tests. 

6.  Similarly  the  range  of  abilities  within  a  given  class, 
again  in  all  subjects  tested,  is  far  too  great. 

7.  At  least  one-fourth  more  time  is  being  given  to  spell- 
ing, and  more  than  one-fourth  more  to  arithmetic,  than  is 
justified  in  the  light  of  the  best  knowledge  on  the  subject. 


192          School  Organization  and  Administration 


RECOM  M  ENDATIONS 

With  these  facts  before  us  the  following  recommenda- 
tions are  made : 

1.  Spelling  should  not  have  more  than  60  to  75  minutes 
per  week,  and  arithmetic  from  75  minutes  in  grade  two,  to 
200  minutes  in  grade  eight.     A  part  of  the  surplus  time 
from  these  two  branches  should  be  given  to  language  work, 
and  part  to  other  parts  of  the  curriculum  than  the  subjects 
dealt  with  here. 

2.  The  only  economical  and  pedagogical  way  of  meeting 
the  needs  of  the  extremely  dull  and  extremely  bright  pupils 
(perhaps  from  four  to  ten  per  cent,  of  each  class  tested)  is 
by  a  much  larger  use  of  ungraded  rooms,  to  which  the  most 
skillful  teachers  should  be  assigned.     It  would  be  easy  for 
all  the  larger  schools  of  the  city  to  find  from  25  to  50  chil- 
dren who  ought,  for  their  own  sakes  and  for  the  sakes  of 
other  children  as  well,  to  be  placed  in  such  rooms.     This 
would  provide  an  inestimable  relief  in  all  class  work  in  the 
school.     This  is  the  most  evident  and  the  most  important 
need  which  is  brought  to  light  by  these  tests. 

3.  The  best  and  most  constant  supervision  of  this  work 
is  needed  to  work  out  necessary  readjustments.     It  should 
be  added  that,  so  long  as  the  grade  lines  are  stiffly  main- 
tained as  the  only  basis  for  the  classification  of  children, 
part  of  the  value  of  expert  supervision  is  nullified. 

4.  In  addition  to  this,  promotion  by  subjects  ought  to  be 
a  possibility  more  frequently  made  use  of.    When  a  fourth- 
grade  child  can  read  as  well  as  a  seventh-grade  child,  he 
ought  not  to  be  kept  in  the  fourth  grade  for  reading  just 
because  he  cannot  leave  his  fourth-grade  arithmetic. 

5.  Briefly,  what  the  schools  have  achieved  in  general, 
they  should  now  set  themselves  to  achieve  in  particular. 


The  Efficiency  of  the  Instruction  Measured       193 


THE   USE   OF   STANDARDIZED   TESTS 

A  final  word  may  be  said  about  the  use  of  standard  tests. 
First,  we  desire  to  commend  the  use  that  supervisors  and 
principals  have  been  making  of  these  modern  educational 
tools.  Teachers  should  become  familiar  with  such  scales 
and  tests  as  have  been  used  here;  not  with  how  they  were 
made,  but  with  how  to  use  them.  The  teacher  who  is  able 
to  measure  her  own  product,  or  to  have  it  measured  by  the 
supervisor,  will  develop  confidence  in  her  methods  or  dis- 
cover reasons  for  changing  them. 

As  an  instrument  in  supervision  tests  are  indispensable. 
Of  course  testing  can  never  displace  constructive  helpful 
criticism,  but  standardized  tests  furnish  a  rational  basis  for 
such  criticism,  without  which  the  best  supervision  is  handi- 
capped. So  far  as  was  observed  they  are  being  properly 
used  by  the  principals  and  supervisors,  but  they  may  go 
even  farther  in  displacing  the  .ordinary  form  of  school 
examination. 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE    PROGRESS    OF    CHILDREN    THROUGH 
THE    SCHOOLS1 

IMPORTANCE   OF    PROPER   SCHOOL   PROGRESS 

A  PROBLEM  which  is  of  increasing  importance  in  edu- 
cation today  is  that  of  school  progress.  Since  the 
welfare  of  the  individual  child  is  the  aim  toward  \vhich 
every  good  school  system  works,  the  recognition  and  analy- 
sis of  the  differences  among  children  calls  for  much  greater 
attention  than  is  usually  given.  Children  are  ordinarily 
expected  to  enter  the  first  grade  of  the  elementary  school 
at  the  age  of  six,  and  to  complete  the  eighth  grade  during 
their  fourteenth  year.  Those  who  accomplish  this  are 
said  to  have  made  normal  progress.  It  is  for  these,  who 
constitute  the  majority  of  our  school  children,  that  the 
course  of  study  and  the  system  of  grading  are  best  adapted. 

Those  who  complete  the  eighth  grade  in  less  than  eight 
years  after  entering,  or  whose  age  at  any  time  during  that 
period  is  less  than  that  of  the  child  whose  progress  is  nor- 
mal, are  said  to  be  accelerated. 

There  is  still  another  group  of  children,  who  require  more 
than  eight  years  to  finish  the  elementary  school,  or  whose 
age  at  some  time  is  greater  than  that  of  the  normal  child. 
These  are  said  to  be  retarded; 

AGE   AND   GRADE  DISTRIBUTION 

Statistics  were  collected  in  regard  to  the  ages  and  grades 
of  all  the  children  in  the  public  schools  of  Salt  Lake  City 

1  Chapter  IX  was  written  by  Mr.  J.  Harold  Williams.  —  PUBLISHERS. 

194      • 


Progress  of  Children  Through  the  Schodls  195 


196         School  Organization  and  Administration 

on  the  tenth  day  of  May,  1915.    The  results  have  been  tabu- 
lated, and  are  shown  in  Table  XXXVI.     The  number  of 


TABLE  XXXVII 

ACCELERATED,  NORMAL,  AND  RETARDED  PUPILS  IN  'SALT  LAKE  CITY,  BY 

GRADES 


Grade 

Accelerated 

Normal 

Retarded 

No. 

% 

No. 

% 

No. 

% 

I  A  

37 
•      580 
45 
327 
86 
316 

77 
206 

75 
182 

85 
123 

49 
146 

36 
178 

5-9 
30.0 

57-i 
23.6 
10.7 
21.3 
8.6 
16.2 

8-5 
16.1 
10.7 

12.2 

7-7 
iS-i 
9.9 
18.1 

355 
954 
3i8 
689 
368 
656 
345 
5i8 
279 
426 
225 
358 
183 
340 
131 
338 

55-8 
49-3 
3°-7 
49-6 
43-9 
44.0 
38-8 
40.8 
3i-7 
37-5 
28.3 

35-5 
29.8 

35-3 
36.4 
34-7 

239 
40 

273 
372 
385 
5i6 
470 
548 
525 
527 
486 
528 
392 
480 
194 
460 

38.3 
20.7 

12.2 
26.8 
46.3 

34-7 
52.6 

43-0 
59-8 
46.4 
61.0 

52-3 
62.5 
49.6 
53-7 
47-2 

IB  

II  A     

II  B     

Ill  A   

Ill  B   

IV  A    

IV  B    

VA      

V  B      

VI  A    

VI  B    ...... 

VII  A  

VII  B  

VIII  A    

VIII  B    .      ... 

High  School 


IX  A   

17 

C.7 

89 

31.2 

1  80 

6?  i 

IX  B    

01 

18.1 

172 

74.4 

236 

4.7  ? 

X  A  

6 

6.3 

33 

34-7 

56 

1O  O 

X  B  

71 

18.7 

135 

35-7 

248 

4.e  6 

XI  A   .  .   .   .   .   . 

3 

4.8 

23 

37.3 

^6 

C7.Q 

XI  B    

70 

26.3 

90 

33.9 

io«c 

•ZQ.8 

XII  A  .    .  .   .  '  .   . 

o 

66.7 

4 

32.3 

2 

o 

XII  B  

C3 

25.7 

OJ 

45.2 

CQ 

20  I 

Totals      

2,859 

16.2 

7,122 

40.0 

7,641 

4.3.4. 

Progress  of  Children  Through  the  Schools        197 

children  of  each  half-year  of  age  and  in  each  half -grade  are 
given,  and  the  heavy-faced  lines  running  diagonally  through 
the  center  of  the  table  include  between  them  the  number 
of  children  who  are  normal  for  each  age  and  grade.  For 


NORMAL 
4O.4% 


ACCELERATED^  RETARDED 

43.4 


FIG.  28.    SHOWING  RELATIVE  PROPORTIONS  OF  NORMAL,  RETARDED,  AND 
ACCELERATED  PUPILS  IN  THE  SALT  LAKE  CITY  SCHOOLS 

example,  this  includes  those  in  the  first  grade  who  are  be- 
tween the  ages  of  six  and  one-half  and  eight  years.1     All 

1  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  age-grade  statistics  were  taken  at  the 
end  of  the  school  year,  so  that  the  age  for  completing  any  grade,  rather  than  that 


198         School  Organization  and  Administration 

of  those  falling  below  this  normal  line  are  "  over  age,"  and 
may  be  considered  retarded;  those  above  the  normal  line 
are  accelerated. 

The  percentages  of  children  of  each  of  these  groups,  and 
by  grades,  are  shown  in  Table  XXXVII,  on  page  196. 

Figure  28,  on  page  197,  in  which  the  distribution  of  the 
total  school  enrollment  in  this  respect  is  shown,  gives  the 
same  result  in  graphic  form. 


HIGH    PERCENTAGE   OF   RETARDED    PUPILS 

The  significant  fact  in  regard  to  this  distribution  is  that 
the  retarded  group  is  the  largest  of  the  three.  The  back- 
ward children  in  the  ungraded  school  are  not  included  in 
these  percentages.  If  these  were  added,  the  proportion 
represented  by  the  dark  area  of  the  circle  would  be  still 
greater. 

This  city  ranks  among  those  having  a  relatively  high  per- 
centage of  retarded  pupils.  Table  XXXVIII  gives  a  partial 
list  of  cities  in  which  similar  studies  have  been  made.  All, 
with  the  exception  of  Salt  Lake  City  and  Butte,  Montana, 
have  been  taken  from  Ayres'  Identification  of  the  Misfit 
Child.1 

It  is  of  further  importance  to  note  that  not  only  are  43.3 
per  cent,  of  the  school  children  in  this  city  retarded,  but  in 
many  cases  the  degree  of  retardation  reaches  two,  three,  or 
even  more  than  four  years.  The  amount  of  each  is  shown 
in  Figure  29. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  although  in  the  shaded  area  the 
number  retarded  one  year  makes  up  the  largest  group,  nearly 
one-half  as  many  are  retarded  two  years ;  and  that  the  num- 
ber retarded  three  and  four  years  is  half  as  large  as  the  two- 

of  beginning,  was  taken.  The  basis  used  in  determining  over-ageness  is  the 
usual  basis  for  counting.  The  three-year  limit  used  in  the  Salt  Lake  City  school 
reports  is  too  liberal. 

1  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  New  York,  Bulletin  No.  108. 


Progress  of  Children  Through  the  Schools        199 

year  group.  Such  a  condition  emphasizes  anew  the  need 
for  more  ungraded  rooms  and  those  pupil  adjustments 
pointed  out  in  the  preceding  chapter. 


TABLE  XXXVIH 

RETAHDATION  AND  ACCELERATION  IN  AMERICAN  CITIES 
(Elementary  Schools  Only) 


City 

Retarded 

Normal 

Accel- 
erated 

i.    Quincy,  Mass  

10% 

31% 

So% 

2.     Racine,  Wis  

28 

42 

•2Q 

3.    Amsterdam,  N.Y  

28 

23 

40 

4.    Syracuse,  N.Y  

20 

2O 

42 

5.     Indianapolis,  Ind  

20 

27 

34 

6.     Danbury,  Conn  

71 

31 

38 

7.    Milwaukee,  Wis  

71 

41 

28 

8.    Rockford,  HI  

32 

4O 

28 

9.     Canton,  O  

74 

38 

28 

10.     Elmira,  N.Y  

?4 

28 

38 

ii     New  Rochelle,  N.Y  

•74. 

30 

36 

12     Muskegon,  Mich.        

7C 

4.O 

2? 

13     Niagara  Falls,  N.Y  

36 

«a 

31 

14.    Topeka  Kansas  

36 

^8 

26 

15.    Danville,  HI  

38 

34 

28 

16.    Trenton,  N.J  

38 

•aj 

31 

17.    Reading,  Pa.        

4-O 

2C 

2C 

18.     Plainfield,  N.J  

4O 

2Q 

3O 

IQ.     Perth  Amboy,  N.J  

41 

«2 

27 

20.    Bayonne,  N.J  

42 

•»! 

27 

21.    Hazelton,  Pa  

42 

?6 

22 

22.    SALT  LAKE  CITY    

44 

39 

17 

23.    East  St.  Louis,  111  

AA 

*4 

22 

24.    Elizabeth,  N.J  

46 

«I 

23 

25.    Kenosha,  Wis  

48 

36 

16 

26.    Montclair,  N.J  

48 

if 

18 

27.    New  Orleans,  La.  (White)     .... 
28.    Butte,  Mont  

49 
51 

31 
41 

20 

7 

29.    Passaic,  N.J. 

ei 

32 

17 

200         School  Organization  and  Administration 


DISTRIBUTION   OF   THE   RETARDED    PUPILS 

Figure  30  shows  the  extent  of  this  problem  in  detail,  in- 
dicating how  each  grade  in  the  school  is  affected  by  the 
great  number  of  children  who  vary  from  the  normal. 


FIG.  29.    DEGREE  OF  ACCELERATION  OR  RETARDATION  OF  PUPILS  IN 
THE  SALT  LAKE  CITY  SCHOOLS 

Retardation  begins  early  in  the  grades  and  increases  to 
the  sixth  grade,  when  there  is  a  noticeable  falling  off. 
This  falling  off  is  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  the  reg- 
ular routine  school  work  offers  little  attraction  to  a  child 
who  has  become  greatly  retarded,  and  in  part  to  the 
fact  that  many  reach  the  end  of  the  compulsory  school 
age  by  the  time  this  point  is  reached.  (See  Figure  13, 
page  63.)  Repeating  the  same  work  over  and  over 
again  becomes  monotonous  even  for  normal  adults.  In 


Progress  of  Children  Through  the  Schools        201 


Figure  31  the  number  of  children  in  the  A  and  B  sections 
of  each  grade  have  been  added  together,  and  the  increase 


ACCELERATED  - 


0  10  20  90  40 


A^C 


«B= 


A  k\\\\M 


*L'S 


M 


*\\\N 


B?vSx 


p\  Kw~ 


ip 


YRSMUD-J  YRMB-4  YRS. 
RETARDED 


US 


40  90  go  IO  O  PtRCCMT. 


IE 


ESSS5SS 


Mnra 


\\\\\vi 


FIG.  30.    SHOWING  DISTRIBUTION  OF  NORMAL,  ACCELERATED,  AND 
RETARDED  PUPILS,  BY  GRADES 

in  retardation  to  the  sixth  grade,  and  the  falling  off  there- 
after, are  more  clearly  shown. 

The  amount  of  retardation  in  Grade  I  is  29.5  per  cent.; 
in  Grade  VI,  56.6  per  cent. ;  and  in  Grade  VIII,  50.4  per 
cent. 


2O2         School  Organization  and  Administration 

Dropping  out  of  school  on  the  part  of  retarded  pupils  is 
not  an  uncommon  occurrence  in  our  city  schools,  and  has 
been  noted  in  many  cities.  Investigations  show  that  the 


GRADE 

I 

GRADE 

n 

GRADE 

m 

1 

GRADE 

w 

GRADE 

¥ 

GRADE 

"so. 

GRADl 

THE 

GRADE 

"VTTT 

FIG.  31.    PERCENTAGE  OF  RETARDED  PUPILS,  BY  GRADES 

children  who  drop  out  at  that  time  are  usually  those  who 
have  become  discouraged  through  failures,  and  through 
the  embarrassment  of  being  greatly  over-age.  It  would  be 
comparatively  easy  to  show  that  dropping  out  of  school  be- 


Progress  of  Children  Through  the  Schools        203 

fore  reaching  the  eighth  grade  is  many  times  as  common 
among  retarded  children  as  among  those  who  have  made 
normal  progress. 


CONDITIONS  IN  ONE  ROOM 

The  following  is  an  example  of  the  conditions  found  in 
one  class  in  Salt  Lake  City.  The  condition  shown  here  is 
not  unusual  for  the  city.  Such  conditions  are  not  infre- 
quently brought  about  by  the  wide  range  of  ages  in  a  single 
room:  Miss  G.,  teacher  of  Grades  II-B  and  III-A,  in  the 
F.  school,  has  in  her  room  thirty-nine  pupils,  who  are  dis- 
tributed by  ages  thus: 


Ages 

2-B 

3-A 

3 

i 

7.O-   7.<C 

2 

£ 

9 

7.6-  7.  II    . 

4 

i 

(j 

^* 

8.0-  8.5 

m^—mm 

6 

i 

8.6-  8.ii  

3 

i 

u  — 

9.0-  9.5    

— 
3 

4 

55  a 

0.6—  o.ii  . 

I 

i 

10.0—10.5     

i 

4 

io.6-io.ii  

•i 

3 

11.0—11.5     

i 

1 

ii.6-ii.ii  

•M 

12.0—12.5    

i 

i 

« 

12.  6-12.  II    

i 

Only  those  inclosed  by  the  heavy  lines  can  be  said  to  be 
normal.  Those  above  are  accelerated,  and  those  below  are 
retarded.  With  the  accelerated  pupils  in  this  room  the 
teacher  will  have  little  difficulty.  True,  they  may  be  of 
superior  intelligence,  and  capable  of  doing  much  more  work 
than  any  teacher  of  thirty-nine  pupils  can  afford  to  arrange 
for  them.  But  their  progress  is  assured  to  a  reasonable  de- 


204         School  Organization  and  Administration 

gree.  T^ie  striking  feature  of  the  class  is  the  "  over-age- 
ness  "  with  which  the  teacher  has  to  deal.  The  seventeen 
pupils  represented  below  the  line  will  require  her  attention 
during  the  entire  school  day,  if  they  are  to  be  properly  in- 
structed. In  fact,  a  class  of  seventeen  retarded  pupils  is 
larger  than  the  generally  accepted  maximum  for  such  classes. 
Fortunately,  all  of  the  pupils  below  the  line  in  this  in- 
stance are  not  mentally  below  normal.  Those  nearest  the 
line  may  have  been  held  out  of  school  for  a  time,  or  may  be 
retarded  for  reasons  of  such  slight  consequence  that  no 
unusual  amount  of  special  attention  need  be  given  them. 
There  are  at  least  seven  pupils  in  the  class,  however,  who 
are  seriously  over-age.  We  may  be  sure  that  all  of  those 
below  the  dotted  line  are  in  need  of  a  great  deal  of  indi- 
vidual instruction  or  training. 


A   PROPER   REDISTRIBUTION   OF   THE   PUPILS 

Assuming  that  children  can  be  graded  properly  in  the 
schools,  Figure  32  represents  the  pupils  in  this  room,  ar- 
ranged in  order  of  their  ages,  to  show  how  a  reasonable 
separation  could  be  brought  about.  Such  a  separation,  how- 
ever, requires  the  general  provision  of  ungraded  and  special 
classes. 

After  removing  the  extreme  cases,  this  still  leaves  thirty 
pupils  whose  ages  vary  from  jl/2  to  10  years.  Considering 
further  the  conditions  relative  to  the  lighting  and  ventilat- 
ing of  the  basement  room  in  which  this  class  was  found,  it 
is  not  difficult  to  see  that  the  teacher  will  still  have  a  task 
equal,  at  least,  to  her  compensation.. 


THE   FIFTH    GRADE   AS   AN    EXAMPLE  OF   UNEVEN 
DISTRIBUTION 

In  further  illustration  of  the  uneven  distribution  of  chil- 
dren in  the  grades,  data  concerning  all  fifth-grade  pupils  in 


Progress  of  Children  Through  the  Schools        205 

the  city   have   been   brought   together   and   presented   in 
Figure  33. 

The  enrollment  and  age-distribution  in  this  grade  are 
such  that  the  group  is  fairly  representative  of  all  the  grades, 


12  YRS. 

9  _    

i  



7  1 

6 
5 

\        * 

j"5                                   7 

TOTAL,  39   PUPILS. 

FIG.  32.    ACCELERATED,  NORMAL,  AND  RETARDED  PUPILS  IN  ONE 

ROOM 

The  above  shows  a  schoolroom  'of  39  pupils  in  Salt  Lake  City.  Although  30  normal  pupils 
should  constitute  an  average  room,  there  are  a  additional  pupils  accelerated  and  7  additional 
pupils  retarded  to  such  a  degree  as  to  warrant  their  removal  to  special  classes.  This  room  is 
typical  of  conditions  to  be  found  in  many  schools. 

and  this  diagram  is  not  an  exaggeration  of  the  unevenness 
found  through  the  school  system. 


REPEATERS 


Inability  on  the  part  of  pupils  to  do  the  work  of  their 
grade  usually  results  in  non-promotion,  and  hence  the  ne- 
cessity of  repeating  the  work  another  year  or  half-year. 


206         School  Organization  and  Administration 


Some  children  have  repeated  the  work  as  many  as  six  times, 
and  cases  of  even  a  larger  number  of  repetitions  have  been 
found.  There  were  at  the  time  of  the  survey  1,570  pupils 
in  Salt  Lake  City  who  were  repeating  their  grades.  This  is 


Progress  of  Children  Through  the  Schools        207 


approximately  9  per  cent,  of  the  entire  number  belonging. 
The  teacher  was  asked  in  each  case  to  state  whether  the 
work  of  each  child  was  being  taken  for  the  first,  second, 
third,  fourth,  or  more  times.  The  number  in  each  case  of 
repetition  is  as  follows: 

Taking  work  the  second  time 1,555  pupils 

Taking  work  the  third  time 101  pupils 

Taking  work  the  fourth  time,  or  more ,. .  14  pupils 


Ha.e 
1 
3000 

Zsoo 

Ml 

'6 

1 

, 

• 

n 

• 

| 

1 

h 

h 

0SO 

• 

n^ 

• 

f? 

^ 

_ 

/OOO 
.*» 

CO 

co 

CD 

CO 

CO 

0 

t* 

to 

CO 

•o 

f 

•^ 

s 

CO 

co 
o 

g 

t- 

CD 

CD 

s 

£ 
co 

co 

to 

£ 

IGH  SCHOC 

£ 

0 

CD 

P 

M 

CO 

1 

o 
E 

CQ 

"> 

10 

O 

* 

t- 

«o 

bo 

RESULTS    OF   PRO/ACTIONS,   I9J3-J4. 

1          I    PROMOTED 

IB     FAILED 

FIG.  34.    RELATIVE  NUMBER  OF  PROMOTIONS  AND  FAILURES,  BY  GRADES 

In  Figure  34  the  relative  number  of  promotions  and  fail- 
ures are  shown  for  each  grade  for  the  year  1913-14,  as 
printed  in  the  last  annual  report  of  the  board  of  education. 


208         School  Organization  and  Administration 

All  of  the  children  represented  in  each  grade  by  the  dark- 
ened area  will  become  "  repeaters  "  for  the  next  half-year, 
provided  they  remain  in  school.  It  will  be  observed  that 
the  relative  number  of  failures  decreases  somewhat  through 
the  grades,  until  the  number  who  are  not  promoted  to  the 
high-school  grades  is  very  small.  This  is  unquestionably 
due  to  the  dropping  out  of  the  backward  pupils  before  reach- 
ing the  higher  grades.  The  number  retained  in  the  first 
grade  is  approximately  16  per  cent,  of  the  total  number 
belonging. 

CAUSES   OF   RETARDATION 

The  teachers  were  asked,  in  each  case  of  repetition  or 
serious  retardation,  to  make  some  statement  relative  to  the 
probable  cause.  The  following  were  the  most  frequently 
given  reasons: 

1.  Poor  home  conditions. 

2.  Physical  ailments. 

3.  Transferring  from  another  school. 

4.  Retarded  mental  development. 

5.  Difficulty  with  the  English  language. 

6.  Lack  of  application. 

7.  Poor  attendance. 

8.  Laziness. 

9.  Late  entering. 
10.  Delinquency. 

Many  more  interesting  reasons  were  given,  and  while 
probably  in  certain  cases  each  could  be  justified  as  a  sepa- 
rate excuse,  it  is  obvious  that  there  is  a  close  relation  among 
several  of  those  given  here.  After  analyzing  many  cases, 
and  inquiring  into  the  exact  conditions,  the  writer  feels 
sure  that,  with  a  few  exceptions,  the  following  have  pro- 
duced practically  all  of  the  retardation  in  the  city: 

1.  Mental  deficiency. 

2.  Physical  ailments. 

3.  Poor  home  conditions. 


Progress  of  Children  Through  the  Schools        209 


AGE   AT   ENTERING   THE   FIRST   GRADE 

It  is  not  uncommon  for  teachers  and  principals  to  assume 
that  much  of  the  retardation  in  their  rooms  is  due  to  the 
lateness  with  which  the  children  enter  school.  That  this 
is  not  an  important  cause,  considering  the  large  amount  of 
retardation,  may  be  easily  proved.  Children  in  Salt  Lake 
City  commonly  enter  the  first  grade  at  the  age  of  six  years, 
some  enter  even  earlier,  and,  although  some  enter  later,  the 
number  whose  retardation  is  the  direct  result  of  late  enter- 


FIVE  YEARS  I  3IX  YEARS  I3EVEN  YEARS  lEWHT  YEARS   (NINE  YEARS    I  TEN  YEARS 

FIG.  35.   DISTRIBUTION  OF  AGES  AT  WHICH  SALT  LAKE  CITY  CHILDREN 
ENTER  THE  FIRST  SCHOOL  GRADE 

ing  is  small.  Figure  35  shows  the  distribution  of  the  enter- 
ing ages.  Nearly  70  per  cent,  have  entered  at  five  or  six 
years,  and  nearly  90  per  cent,  at  not  later  than  seven  years. 


OTHER   EXPLANATIONS   FOR   RETARDATION 

"  Poor  home  conditions  "  is  one  of  the  most  common  rea- 
sons given  by  teachers  to  account  for  a  child's  retardation, 
or  his  slowness  in  school.  In  some  cases  this  is  beyond  a 
doubt  a  valid  explanation.  This  is  especially  true  where 
children  are  needed  for  long  hours  of  work  out  of  school, 
or  where  there  is  drunkenness,  immorality,  and  other  forms 
of  social  degeneracy  which  would  cause  discouragement 


2io         School  Organization  and  Administration 

and  even  contempt  for  school.  There  are,  however,  rela- 
tively few  such  homes  in  Salt  Lake  City.  One  instance  of 
the  kind  was  noted,  but  the  amount  of  mental  deficiency  in 
the  family  would  easily  account  for  the  conditions. 

"  Difficulty  with  the  English  language  "  is  also  a  common 
answer.  Since,  however,  the  proportion  of  children  of  for- 
eign parentage  in  this  city  is  so  very  small,  and  most  of  these 
being  from  northern  and  western  Europe,  this  can  seldom 
account  for  the  slow  progress.  Further,  many  cases  are  on 
record  of  foreign  children  of  normal  mentality  who  have 
made  even  better  than  average  progress. 

Physical  defects  and  ill  health  are  probably  more  com- 
monly causes  of  retardation  than  any  other  factor  except 
mental  deficiency.  How  the  health  conditions  of  children 
are  related  to  school  progress  is  discussed  in  another  chap- 
ter. With  the  development  of  the  system  of  medical  inspec- 
tion these  causes  can  be  controlled. 


SUBNORMAL   AND    BACKWARD    CHILDREN 

The  vast  majority  of  the  children  who  are  retarded  in 
school  are  making  slow  progress  because  their  intelligence 
is  below  the  average  for  children  of  their  ages.  By  no 
means,  however,  are  all  of  these  mentally  defective;  chil- 
dren vary  in  mental  capacity  just  as  we  all  vary  among 
ourselves  in  height,  weight,  strength,  and  ability  of  all 
kinds.  There  is  thus  often  a  degree  of  mental  retardation 
which  accounts  for  the  retardation  in  school.  This  mental 
retardation  is  now  measurable,  and  intelligence  testing  has 
been  so  perfected  that  by  means  of  a  brief  examination 
with  a  series  of  psychological  tests  the  child's  mental  age 
can  be  determined.  This  mental  age  represents  the  approx- 
imate level  of  intelligence  of  the  child,  by  which  he  can  be 
compared  with  other  children,  and  his  general  ability  deter- 
mined, as  far  as  this  depends  upon  intelligence. 

Usually  about  75  per  cent,  of  ordinary  school  children 
have  normal  intelligence  levels ;  that  is,  their  mental  age  is 


Progress  of  Children  Through  the  Schools        211 

approximately  the  same  as  their  actual  age  in  years  and 
months.  The  remainder  of  the  children  deviate  from  the 
normal  either  above  or  below.  Those  whose  mental  ages 
are  decidedly  above  their  actual  ages  are  said  to  be  of  su- 
perior intelligence.  Those  who  are  slightly  below  are  said 
to  be  dull-normal,  or  backward ;  while  there  are  some  whose 
deviation  is  so  far  below  the  average  that  they  are  classified 
as  feeble-minded.  Another  group,  just  above  the  feeble- 
minded, consists  of  those  who  are  above,  but  very  little 
above,  the  lowest  group.  These  are  called  border-line  cases. 

MENTAL   CLASSIFICATION    GROUPS 

In  the  mental  classification  of  children,  then,  we  have 
five  general  groups : 

1.  The  feeble-minded  group. 

2.  The  border-line  group. 

3.  The  dull-normal  group. 

4.  The  average-normal  group. 

5.  Children  of  superior  intelligence. 

Not  every  child  can  be  definitely  placed  in  one  of  these 
groups.  The  names  used  here  are  but  arbitrary,  and  do  not 
represent  the  various  "  types  "  into  which  it  was  formerly 
supposed  that  children  could  be  classified.  In  fact,  each 
group  contains  so  many  varying  degrees  of  intelligence 
that  it  is  difficult  to  draw  a  line  between  any  two  groups. 
The  classification  is  used  merely  for  the  sake  of  convenience 
in  discussing  the  several  relative  levels  of  intelligence. 

All  of  these  groups  are  represented  in  the  public  schools 
of  Salt  Lake  City.  Children  of  all  of  these  varying  degrees 
were  examined  during  the  progress  of  the  survey.  It  is  not 
surprising  that  children  should  be  greatly  variable  in  their 
school  ability  and  in  the  progress  they  make,  when  we  con- 
sider that  actual  mental  capacity  is  of  such  varying  degrees. 
And  it  is  important  to  remember  that  the  degree  of  success 
or  failure  which  will  be  met  in  the  later  life  of  these  children 
is  largely  dependent  upon  these  levels  of  intelligence. 


212         School  Organization  and  Administration 

CHILDREN    EXAMINED    BY    INTELLIGENCE    TESTS 

A  number  of  children  were  examined  during  the  survey, 
and  their  mental  ages  determined.  Records  were  also  ob- 
tainable of  children  who  had  been  examined  by  school  prin- 
cipals and  the  psychologist  in  charge  of  the  ungraded  school. 
Enough  records  were  obtained  so  that  the  mental  ages  of 
about  1 20  children  were  secured.  The  children  selected  for 
examination  were  of  three  groups : 

1.  Those  of  supposedly  normal  intelligence. 

2.  Those  of  superior  ability. 

3.  Those  who  were  backward  in  their  work. 

The  children  selected  by  their  teachers  as  being  of  normal 
intelligence  usually  tested  approximately  normal.  In  one 
case,  a  child  who  was  thought  to  be  normal  was  found  to 
be  somewhat  mentally  retarded,  his  quickness  and  alertness 
having  misled  persons  in  estimating  his  intelligence.  In 
another  case,  a  child  supposedly  no  brighter  than  the  aver- 
age was  found  to  be  decidedly  above  the  average  for  her 
age.  These  examples  illustrate  how  the  teacher  may  some- 
times be  mistaken  in  a  child's  mental  capacity,  and  these 
mistakes  sometimes  lead  to  the  misplacing  of  children  in 
school.  Not  infrequently  teachers  of  many  years'  experi- 
ence will  make  such  errors.  On  the  whole,  however,  the 
teacher  is  better  able  to  judge  the  intelligence  of  her  pupils 
than  any  one  else,  except  the  psychologist,  or  one  who  is 
capable  of  giving  intelligence  tests.  Teachers  rarely  make 
a  mistake  in  selecting  a  child  of  superior  intelligence,  and 
almost  never  is  a  child  found  to  be  normal  whom  the 
teacher  thinks  is  subnormal. 

Since  mistakes  do  occur,  however,  it  is  best  not  to  trust 
the  judgment  of  any  person  who  is  not  a  psychologist,  and 
even  he  will  make  use  of  what  is  known  as  the  Scale  for 
Measuring  Intelligence  before  making  any  statement  as  to 
the  mental  level  of  the  child. 


Progress  of  Children  Through  the  Schools        213 


THE   MEASURING   SCALE   USED 

In  making  the  examinations,  use  was  made  of  the  Stan- 
ford Revision  of  the  Binet-Simon  Measuring  Scale  of  In- 
telligence.1 This  consists  of  a  series  of  psychological  tests 
which  have  been  arranged  in  such  order  that,  from  the 
number  and  kinds  of  tests  which  a  child  can  pass,  the  ex- 
aminer can  calculate  the  child's  general  level  of  intelligence. 
This  scale  was  formulated  in  1908  by  Dr.  Binet,  a  French 
psychologist,  and  Dr.  Simon,  a  physician  of  Paris.  Since 
that  time  many  thousands  of  school  children  have  been  ex- 
amined by  this  method,  and  it  has  been  found  everywhere 
to  be  surprisingly  accurate  and  practically  indispensable  in 
judging  intelligence.  It  has  been  successfully  used  with 
normal  children,  children  of  superior  intelligence,  and  with 
backward  and  feeble-minded  children  and  adults.  It  has 
been  used  in  many  different  countries,  cities,  and  schools, 
and  leading  psychologists  have  found  it  very  useful.  Since 
originally  published,  scientific  investigators  have  been  able 
to  revise  and  extend  the  scale,  until  to-day  its  value  and  ac- 
curacy are  much  greater  than  with  the  original  set  of  tests 
devised  by  Binet  and  Simon.  The  Stanford  Revision, 
which  was  used  during  the  survey,  is  the  most  carefully 
worked-out  revision  which  has  been  made  up  to  the  present 
time. 

BACKWARD    CHILDREN    STUDIED 

To  illustrate  what  a  serious  problem  the  mental  retarda- 
tion of  some  children  presents  to  the  school,  the  distribu- 
tion of  1 08  backward  children,  for  whom  accurate  records 
were  obtained,  is  shown  in  Figure  36. 

The  area  inclosed  by  the  heavy  line  and  shaded  shows 
the  distribution  of  the  ages  of  these  108  children.  The 
youngest  is  7  years,  while  the  oldest  is  19.  The  dotted  line 
incloses  the  area  which  represents  the  distribution  of  the 

1  Terman,  L.  M.,  The  Measurement  of  Intelligence.  Houghton  Mifflin 
Company,  Boston. 


214         School  Organization  and  Administration 

mental  ages  of  these  same  108  children.  The  youngest 
mental  age  is  3  years,  while  the  oldest  is  13  years.  Had  a 
group  of  normal  children  been  thus  arranged,  the  dotted 
line  would  be  superimposed  upon  the  heavy  line,  and  the 
area  of  mental  age  would  be  the  same  as  that  of  actual  age. 
The  median  mental  age  of  this  group  is  9  years,  while  the 


CHILDREN 
-25 


AGES  AND  MENTALA8ES  OF 
105  BACKWARD  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 
IN  SALT  LAKE  CITY    •* 


3      *     5      6       T      T      9       to     II     12      13      14     IJ     16.     17     If     19    YEARS 


FIG.  36.   ACTUAL  AND  MENTAL  AGES  COMPARED,  FOR  A  GROUP  OF 
RETARDED  PUPILS 

median  actual  age  is  1 2.    Thus  there  is  a  general  retardation 
of  3  years,  or  25  per  cent. 

In  some  individual  cases,  the  retardation  is  much  more 
than  3  years.  For  example,  the  child  who  tested  3  years 
mentally  in  this  case  is  actually  9  years  of  age,  and  thus 
his  retardation  is  more  than  66  per  cent.  Such  a  child,  of 
course,  is  of  extremely  low  intelligence,  and  does  not  belong 
in  any  public  school,  but  should  be  placed  in  an  institution 
for  the  feeble-minded.  When  the  State  of  Utah  builds  such 
an  institution,  or  colony,  the  teachers  in  the  public  schools 


Progress  of  Children  Through  the  Schools        215 

will  not  be  burdened  as  they  now  are  with  children  who  are 
so  helpless.  Very  fortunately  there  are  but  few  such  low- 
grade  children  in  the  public  schools  of  Salt  Lake  City. 


FEEBLE-MINDED    CHILDREN 

There  are  many  children  in  the  schools  of  this  city,  how- 
ever, who  just  as  properly  belong  in  institutions  or  colonies 
for  the  feeble-minded  as  the  one  just  mentioned,  although 
their  deficiency  is  proportionately  so  much  less  that  it  is 
not  so  easily  recognized.  For  these  cases  the  Intelligence 
Scale  is  of  much  greater  importance.  Ordinarily,  children 
whose  intelligence  is  found,  by  measurement,  to  be  less  than 
75  per  cent,  of  their  actual  ages,  are  feeble-minded.  This 
means  that  their  intelligence,  as  long  as  they  live,  will  not 
develop  to  a  level  much  beyond  that  of  the  average  child  of 
12  years.  It  must  be  remembered  that  this  1 2-year  level  is 
the  upper  limit,  and  that  most  feeble-minded  persons  never 
reach  this  level.  Many  of  them,  although  they  may  be 
nearly  normal  physically,  have  never  developed  mentally 
beyond  the  10,  9,  8,  or  7-year  level.  Such  persons  cannot, 
of  course,  be  expected  ever  to  be  able  to  compete  in  life 
with  normal  persons,  or  even  to  make  a  living  for  themselves 
if  left  unassisted.  Many  of  those  who  are  not  cared  for 
become  criminals,  prostitutes,  paupers,  or  become  socially 
degenerate  in  some  other  way.  Among  school  children 
mental  deficiency  often  expresses  itself  in  the  form  of 
delinquency. 

THESE  WASTE  BOTH  THE  TEACHER'S  TIME  AND  THEIR  OWN 

Feeble-minded  children  are  not  always  vicious.  Often 
their  temperament  is  such  that  their  teachers  and  friends 
are  inclined  to  overlook  their  mental  deficiency,  and  good 
conduct  and  obedience  are  mistaken  for  intelligence. 

Clara  F.,1  for  example,  is  15  years  of  age.    She  is  in  the 

1  Names  used  here  are  fictitious. 


2i6         School  Organization  and  Administration 

seventh  grade,  and  has  been  making  such  slow  progress  that 
the  teacher  had  become  discouraged  with  her.  She  was  ex- 
amined, and  found  to  have  a  mentality  of  io^4  years.  Be- 
cause she  has  been  a  "  good  plodder  "  and  has  presented  no 
difficulty  in  discipline,  she  was  not  considered  feeble-minded, 
or  even  much  below  normal.  In  fact,  she  has  long  since 
reached  the  grade  of  work  possible  for  one  of  her  level  of 
intelligence,  and  it  is  a  waste  of  time  and  an  injustice  to  the 
child  to  keep  her  in  the  regular  school  any  longer.  Much 
of  the  teacher's  time  has  been  taken  from  the  already  too 
large  class  in  futile  attempts  to  teach  her  things  which  she 
cannot  learn,  and  which  would  be  of  little  use  to  her  if  she 
could  retain  them.  Clara  should  be  in  an  institution  or 
colony  for  the  feeble-minded,  where  she  could  be  taught  at 
least  how  to  do  housework  of  the  simpler  kinds,  where  she 
will  not  be  a  burden  upon  those  who  have  her  in  charge,  and 
where  normal  children  will  not  be  neglected  in  order  that 
she  may  be  instructed. 

Numerous  other  examples  just  as  striking  have  been 
found  in  the  schools.  Some  of  them,  of  whom  space  does 
not  permit  further  description,  are  as  follows : 

George  B Age  15,     mentality  8.  In  Grade  4. 

Francis  A Age  10,     mentality  8.  In  Grade  i. 

Amy  C .  Age  15,     mentality  9%.  In  Grade  7. 

Verna  K Age  12,     mentality  10.  In  Grade  3. 

Everett  D Age  13,     mentality  9^.  In  Grade  4. 

Ernest  L Age  1 2%,  mentality  9.  In  Grade  2. 

All  of  these  children  are  either  feeble-minded  or  border- 
line cases,  and  none  of  them  should  be  in  the  regular  grades 
with  normal  children. 

NUMBER   OF   SUCH    FOUND    IN    EVERY    CITY 

It  is  generally  estimated  that  in  any  city  the  number  of 
feeble-minded  children  is  between  2  and  3  per  cent,  of  the 
entire  school  enrollment.  Probably  the  latter  number  is  a 
safer  estimate.  Although  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 


Progress  of  Children  Through  the  Schools        217 

the  average  intelligence  among  the  population  of  Salt  Lake 
City  may  be  slightly  above  that  of  the  average  city,  on  ac- 
count of  the  freedom  from  slums,  etc.,  yet  the  number  of 
feeble-minded  children  in  the  city  cannot  be  much  below 
3  per  cent,  of  the  school  enrollment.  The  number  is  some- 
what increased  by  the  lack  of  state  facilities  for  the  care  of 
mental  defectives. 

We  may  be  reasonably  certain  that  there  are  not  less  than 
600  children  in  the  public  schools  who  are  mentally  retarded 
to  such  a  degree  that  no  amount  of  teaching  can  ever  make 
them  normal.  In  addition  to  these  there  are  many  more 
children  who  are  mentally  retarded  to  a  less  degree,  but 
are  still  so  far  from  average-normal  that  in  classes  with 
normal  children  they  are  likely  to  receive  little  benefit.  It  is 
these  children  who  are  the  direct  cause  of  much  of  the 
school  retardation  in  the  city. 

Apparently  the  problem  has  been  recognized,  and  an 
attempt  has  been  made  to  solve  it.  For  this  attempt,  al- 
though inadequate,  the  city  is  to  be  commended.  Provision 
for  backward  children  has  been  made  ( I )  by  the  ungraded 
school,  and  (2)  by  ungraded  classes. 


THE   UNGRADED   SCHOOL 

This  now  occupies  one  of  the  oldest  school  buildings  in 
the  city.  The  school  consists  of  five  teachers  and  a  princi- 
pal. There  are  five  rooms,  and  about  90  children  were  be- 
longing at  the  time  of  the  survey.  The  usual  enrollment  is 
about  100.  The  building  is  very  poorly  lighted,  and  the 
heating  and  ventilating  facilities  are  worse  than  should  be 
tolerated  in  any  school.  The  principal's  office  occupies  a 
basement  room,  which  can  be  directly  entered  only  through  a 
back  dpor.  The  conditions  in  the  schoolrooms  are  no  better. 
The  property  on  which  the  building  stands  is  of  relatively 
high  value,  however,  and  since,  with  adequate  transporta- 
tion facilities,  the  location  is  of  secondary  importance,  it 


2i8         School  Organization  and  Administration 

is  probable  that  the  land  could  be  sold  for  a  figure  which 
would  apply  substantially  toward  a  new  building  on  a  less 
expensive  site. 

The  children  are  given  individual  attention,  especially  in 
the  subjects  in  which  they  seem  to  be  the  most  backward. 
The  principal  is  a  university  graduate  in  psychology,  and 
is  qualified  to  give  mental  tests  and  to  judge  the  intelligence 
of  the  children.  During  the  past  four  years  he  has  made 
about  90  such  examinations.  He  is  frequently  called  upon 
to  examine  children  in  the  regular  schools  to  determine  their 
degree  of  defectiveness  or  backwardness,  and  to  advise 
principals  and  teachers  concerning  the  proper  placing  of  cer- 
tain children  who  offer  difficulties  of  instruction  or 
discipline. 


MISTAKEN   AIM   OF   THE   UNGRADED   SCHOOL 

For  the  most  part,  the  teachers  in  the  ungraded  school 
are  energetic  and  interested.  None  have  had  special  train- 
ing for  this  work,  however,  although  some  are  contemplat- 
ing this  for  the  present  summer.  Little  manual  training  is 
taught,  and  the  chief  aim  has  been  to  instruct  children  in  the 
subjects  in  which  they  are  the  most  deficient,  with  a  view 
to  their  being  placed  again  in  the  grades. 

To  make  this  the  aim  of  the  ungraded  school  is  mislead- 
ing. Although  it  is  a  splendid  thing  for  children  who  are 
slightly  backward  in  arithmetic,  for  example,  to  be  specially 
assisted  in  making  up  their  particular  difficulties,  this  is  not 
what  the  ungraded  school  should  be  doing.  Fully  75  per 
cent,  of  the  pupils  in  the  school  are  mentally  so  far  below 
normal  that  they  will  not  be  able,  even  with  this  special  in- 
struction, to  "  make  up  "  their  grades  and  continue  there- 
after to  make  normal  progress.  Practically  all  of  those  now 
enrolled  in  the  school,  and  many  more  who  should  be  en- 
rolled when  provisions  are  made  for  a  larger  ungraded 
school,  are  in  need  of  continued  special-class  work.  Teach- 


Progress  of  Children  Through  the  Schools        219 

ers  and  principals  should  not  be  deluded  by  thinking  that 
children  are  normal  because  the  special  class  has  improved 
them. 


PROPER    TRAINING   FOR   SUCH    PUPILS 

When  the  state  legislature  makes  adequate  provision  for 
the  care  of  the  feeble-minded,  the  public  schools  will  be 
relieved  of  many  of  their  defective  children.  This  it  should 
do  without  further  delay.  There  will  still  be  need  for  the 
special  school,  however.  Probably  none  of  the  border-line 
and  dull-normal  cases  will  be  removed,  and  there  will  always 
be  many  of  the  higher  grade  feeble-minded  children  who 
must  be  trained  in  the  public  schools.  There  should  be  a 
special  school  of  not  less  than  15  teachers,  equipped  not  for 
average  children  as  in  other  schools,  but  especially  for  chil- 
dren whose  minds  have  not  developed  normally.  This 
should  include,  first  of  all,  material  for  manual  work.  In 
no  other  line  can  defective  children  be  trained  to  any  degree 
of  usefulness.  It  is  folly  to  waste  much  of  their  time  in 
reading,  arithmetic,  etc.,  beyond  the  work  of  the  lower 
grades.  While  it  may  happen  frequently  that  feeble-minded 
children  can  retain,  for  a  short  time,  some  of  the  things  they 
have  been  taught  in  these  subjects,  it  is  far  from  efficient  to 
learn  things  which  can  never  be  used.  Backward  and  feeble- 
minded children  can  be  trained  in  manual  work,  however, 
and  in  some  cities  and  institutions  much  has  been  done  in 
this  line  which  has  added  to  their  happiness  and  usefulness. 

THE   SO-CALLED   UNGRADED   ROOMS 

Another  method  which  has  been  used  in  dealing  with  re- 
tarded pupils  is  that  of  the  ungraded  room.  There  are  at 
present  six  teachers  giving  full  time  in  ungraded  rooms. 
Four  teachers  of  domestic  science  are  giving  approximately 
half-time  to  this  work.  In  several  schools,  the  ungraded 
room  has  been  discontinued  for  financial  reasons. 


220         School  Organization  and  Administration 

In  reality,  these  rooms  are  not  ungraded  rooms  at  all. 
In  fact,  the  children  who  make  use  of  them  are  enrolled  in 
the  regular  grades,  and  one  or  more  periods  of  thirty  min- 
utes each  are  given  to  their  special  instruction  in  the  subject 
or  subjects  which  present  the  most  difficulty.  A  large  num- 
ber of  children  can  be  "  coached  "  in  this  manner,  and  one 
teacher  reported  a  class  of  70  pupils  per  day. 

The  following  is  the  daily  schedule  of  one  of  these 
classes : 

9.00  to    9.30  Arithmetic  78. 

9.30  to  10.00  Reading  28. 

10.00  to  10.30  Arithmetic  56. 

10.30  to  10.45  Recess. 

10.45  to  11.00  Reading  and  Phonics  38. 

11.00  to  11.30  Reading  68. 

11.30  to  12.00  Grammar  7A. 

i. oo  to    1.40  Geography  78. 

1.40  to    2.10  Arithmetic  6B. 

2.10  to    2.20  Unassigned  time. 

2.20  to    2.30  Recess. 

2.30  to    3.05  Grammar  8B. 

3.05  to    3.30  Grammar  9  and  7. 

3.00  to    3.30  Reading  4A. 

IN    REALITY    "  BATAVIA  "    ROOMS 

This  form  of  special  instruction  is  similar  to  what  is 
known  as  the  "  Batavia  plan."  While  this  work  is  of  ex- 
treme importance  to  every  school,  and  furnishes  much  re- 
lief to  teachers,  it  is  by  no  means  a  correct  substitute  for 
the  special  class  for  backward  children.  Quite  naturally, 
children  who  are  backward  or  subnormal  mentally  are  most 
commonly  sent  to  these  classes,  and  the  writer  has  ob- 
served many  feeble-minded  children  who  have  been  sent  to 
these  Batavia  teachers  with  the  expectation  that  they  could 
discover  in  what  subjects  they  were  in  need  of  the  greatest 
attention.  In  one  case,  the  teacher  pointed  out  a  boy  who 
had  been  retained  in  one  of  these  classes  for  two  years.  In 
any  school,  even  if  made  up  entirely  of  normal  children, 


Progress  of  Children  Through  the  Schools        221 

there  is  a  place  for  this  work;  but  it  is  unfortunate  that  it 
has  been  instituted  instead  of  the  much-needed  special 
rooms,  where  the  teacher  may  devote  all  her  time  to  chil- 
dren who  are  mentally  subnormal.  In  nearly  every  school 
in  the  city  there  is  need  for  such  a  class. 

As  in  the  ungraded  school,  none  of  the  teachers  of  these 
rooms  have  had  special  training,  and  it  is  not  surprising 
that  there  is  no  one  in  such  schools  who  can  recognize  feeble- 
minded children.  None  have  made  use  of  tests  for  this  pur- 
pose. This,  of  course,  is  a  serious  handicap  in  the  conduct 
of  an  ungraded  room,  or  any  form  of  special  class  work. 

WHAT  IS   NEEDED 

To  what  extent  the  school  retardation  has  been  affected 
by  the  presence  of  subnormal  children  cannot  be  determined 
to  an  exact  figure.  To  do  this,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
examine  the  mental  condition  of  each  retarded  pupil,  and 
to  inquire  into  the  other  conditions  which  might  have  been 
responsible  for  his  slow  progress.  Many  cities  are  intro- 
ducing research  departments  where  this  and  other  impor- 
tant work  can  be  carried  on.  Little  of  value  can  be  deter- 
mined except  by  continued  scientific  investigation. 

About  9  per  cent.,  or  1,570  pupils  in  the  city  schools,  are 
repeating  their  grades  one  or  more  times.  This  means  that 
the  city  is  expending  more  than  $90,000  per  year  for  re- 
peated instruction.  Calculating  on  the  basis  of  the  amount 
paid  each  year  for  teachers'  salaries  alone,  $4,000  per  year 
is  paid  directly  for  this  repeated  instruction.  This  sum  rep- 
resents the  salaries  of  50  teachers  at  $800  each.  This 
$40,000  would  provide: 

15  teachers  in  a  special  school; 

15  additional  teachers  in  ungraded  rooms;  each  receiving 
a  salary  of  not  less  than  $1,200.  These  30  teachers  could  re- 
lieve the  regular  classes  of  450  subnormal  children,  allow- 
ing each  teacher  15  special  pupils.  The  value  of  this  to  the 
schools,  and  to  the  happiness  and  usefulness  of  these  pupils, 


222         School  Organization  and  Administration 

need  not  be  reiterated.    To  say  nothing  of  these,  the  change 
is  justified  from  a  purely  business  standpoint. 


THE   PRINCIPAL   OF   SUCH    A   SCHOOL 

The  principal  of  the  ungraded  school  should  be  a  psychol- 
ogist. This  the  city  has  already  recognized.  He  should 
have  jurisdiction,  not  only  over  the  ungraded  school  of  15 
teachers,  but  over  all  of  the  special  class  work  in  the  city. 
In  the  latter,  he  would  have  the  cooperation  of  the  school 
principals.  He  should  be  given  a  clerical  assistant  to  relieve 
him  of  routine  office  duties,  in  which  otherwise  he  would 
lose  much  valuable  time,  and  should  devote  at  least  one-half 
of  each  day  to  research  work  and  investigation  into  such 
problems  as  retardation.  Under  his  direction  all  retarded 
and  greatly  accelerated  pupils  should  be  examined,  and  the 
records  permanently  kept  in  the  laboratory,  which  should  be 
provided  in  the  ungraded  school.  In  a  single  year  records 
of  the  intelligence  of  the  600  subnormal  children  in  the 
schools  could  be  made.  The  amount  of  retardation  could 
be  greatly  reduced,  by  the  proper  placing  of  pupils,  and  by 
the  additional  assistance  rendered  to  the  health  officers  in 
the  diagnosis  of  cases. 


UNGRADED   ROOMS    FOR   THE  DIFFERENT   SCHOOLS 

In  each  school  provision  should  be  made  for  at  least  one 
real  ungraded  room.  This  is  particularly  important  in  plan- 
ning new  school  buildings.  The  following  are  the  salient 
points  in  the  construction  of  a  standard  ungraded  room : 1 

1.  The  room  should  be  well  lighted  and  ventilated. 

2.  Not  more  than  15  children  should  be  provided  for. 

3.  The  room  should  be  approximately  30  x  40  feet  in 
size. 

1  Goddard,  H.  H.,  School  Training  of  Defective  Children.    New  York,  1914. 


Progress  of  Children  Through  the  Schools        223 

4.  The  windows  should  be  adjustable,  so  that  an  open- 
air  room  can  be  made. 

5.  The  walls  should  be  of  a  neutral  tint. 

6.  Instead  of  school  desks,  movable  tables  and  chairs  of 
various  sizes  should  be  provided. 

7.  There  should  be  8  work  benches  for  manual  training1. 

8.  There  should  be  cupboards  and  cases  for  the  display 
and  keeping  of  work. 

9.  The  walls  should  be  provided  with  plenty  of  black- 
boards, built  low,  so  that  they  can  be  reached  by  the  smallest 
pupils. 

10.  A  bathroom  or  shower  should  adjoin  the  room. 

11.  There  should  be  equipment  for  training  in  practical 
housework.     This  should  be  the  essential  equipment  of  a 
home,  including  a  bed,  stove,  dishes,  etc. 

12.  Books,  play  apparatus,  etc.,  should  be  available. 

It  is  obvious  that  such  a  room  is  not  meant  for  the  teach- 
ing of  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  etc.,  except  in  an  inci- 
dental manner.  Trained  teachers  in  charge  of  these  rooms, 
under  the  supervision  of  an  expert,  will  know  to  what  ex- 
tent the  minds  of  the  children  are  capable  of  each  kind  of 
work,  and  the  instruction  of  each  child  will  follow  accord- 
ingly. As  has  already  been  pointed  out,  the  greatest  success 
with  subnormal  children  has  been  obtained  by  placing  em- 
phasis upon  manual  work  of  a  practical  sort. 


EXCEPTIONAL   CHILDREN 

Although  the  greater  portion  of  this  chapter  has  been 
devoted  to  the  problem  of  backward  and  subnormal  children, 
there  are  other  ways  in  which  children  may  vary  from  the 
average,  and  for  these  special  attention  is  just  as  necessary. 
Often  the  importance  of  the  problem  of  retardation  over- 
shadows this  fact,  and  these  children  are  neglected. 

There  are  many  children  whose  minds  have  developed 
more  rapidly  than  those  of  average  children,  and  whose 


224         School  Organization  and  Administration 

intelligence  is  such  that  they  are  capable  of  work  which  or- 
dinary children  cannot  do  at  the  same  age.  In  some  cases 
such  children  have  been  promoted  to  a  grade  or  more  be- 
yond that  in  which  they  would  be  according  to  actual  age. 
Some  have  been  allowed  to  "  skip  "  grades.  Often  the  in- 
telligence of  these  children  is  underestimated,  and  still  more 
often  teachers  and  parents  are  prevented  by  tradition  and 
custom  from  allowing  them  to  go  beyond  the  work  which 
seems  to  be  suitable  to  their  ages.  On  the  other  hand, 
parents  not  infrequently  insist  that  a  child  is  capable  of 
advancement,  when  the  school  records  plainly  show  that 
he  is  not. 

Here  again  psychological  tests  are  of  great  assistance. 
With  the  child's  mental  age  known,  teachers,  parents,  and 
principals  will  not  need  to  rely  upon  personal  opinion,  and 
the  child's  course  can  be  based  upon  scientific  facts. 


TYPICAL   CASES    FOUND 

The  following  cases  are  representative  of  school  children 
of  superior  mentality.  Both  of  these,  and  many  others, 
were  examined  during  the  progress  of  the  survey. 

Lucile  R.  —  Age  13.  Mentality  about  16.  Is  in  the  seventh  grade.  With 
special  instruction  for  a  time  could  be  doing  the  work  of  the  second  year  in  high 
school.  Temperamentally  pleasant,  and  much  devoted  to  her  work.  In  good 
health,  not  nervous,  and  offers  no  special  difficulty,  except  that  the  work  of  the 
seventh  grade  is  too  easy  for  her.  Is  from  a  home  where  less  than  average  op- 
portunities are  available.  Father  "does  not  believe"  in  high-school  training, 
and  expects  to  remove  Lucile  from  school  when  she  has  completed  the  eighth 
grade. 

George  N.  —  Age  9.  Mentality  about  13.  Is  in  fourth  grade.  From  an 
average  home.  Has  been  well  trained  in  politeness  and  obedience.  Could  be 
doing  the  work  of  which  any  normal  child  of  12  or  13  years  would  be  capable. 
In  excellent  physical  condition. 

We  little  know  what  immense  possibilities  lie  in  these  and 
other  gifted  children.  Many  cases  of  this  kind  are  on  rec- 
ord, and  too  often  insufficient  attention  is  given  in  the  con- 


Progress  of  Children  Through  the  Schools        225 

servation  of  these  possibilities.  In  some  instances,  capa- 
bilities just  as  remarkable  have  been  found,  but  in  some 
special  direction,  such  as  music,  art,  etc.  It  is  of  the  great- 
est importance  that  children  who  early  in  life  show  such 
ability  should  be  educated  according  to  their  levels  of  intelli- 
gence, rather  than  be  held  back  with  other  children  of  the 
same  age. 

THE   PROBLEM    OF   DELINQUENCY 

This  is  fundamentally  a  problem  for  the  public  schools  to 
handle.  Many  boys  and  girls  are  now  in  our  reforma- 
tories and  juvenile  institutions  who  might  have  been  saved 
through  vocational  guidance  and  other  provisions  which  the 
public  schools  should  have  made  for  them.  It  is  generally 
recognized  that  the  feeble-minded  child  is  a  potential  de- 
linquent. The  minds  of  these  children  will  always  remain 
like  those  of  young  children,  and  consequently  they  will 
have  neither  the  ability  nor  the  desire  to  resist  the  tempta- 
tions which  cause  their  downfall.  Even  some  children  of 
normal  mentality  are  weak  in  will  power,  or  have  emotional 
characteristics  which  lead  to  crime. 

In  1910  there  were  25,000  children  in  institutions  for  de- 
linquents. Of  these,  14,000  had  been  committed  in  less 
than  one  year.  Not  less  than  one-third  of  these  are  feeble- 
minded; and  not  less  than  one-half  are  mentally  retarded 
to  such  a  degree  that  this  deficiency  would  account  for  their 
delinquency.  There  are  fully  12,000  who  do  not  belong 
where  they  have  been  placed,  and  for  whom  no  form  of 
punishment  can  be  of  great  benefit.  Many,  when  released, 
will  again  enter  lives  of  crime,  and  will  spend  many  of  their 
later  years  in  prison.  Hence  the  responsibility  of  the  public 
school  in  the  classification  and  guidance  of  children  who 
exhibit  these  tendencies. 


226         School  Organization  and  Administration 


SUMMARY   OF   RECOMMENDATIONS 

As  a  result  of  the  studies  recorded  in  this  chapter  the 
following  recommendations  are  made : 

1.  That  a  new  special  school,  for  ungraded  work,  be 
erected.    This  should  contain  not  less  than  15  rooms,  and 
20  would  be  a  better  number. 

2.  That  the  principal  of  the  ungraded  school  be  given 
such  clerical  assistance  as  to  permit  him  to  direct  the  work 
of  the  psychological  laboratory,  and  to  have  direction  over 
all  ungraded  rooms  in  the  city. 

3.  That  there  be  established  not  less  than  15  ungraded 
rooms  in  regular  schools,  in  addition  to  the  Batavia  teaching 
which  is  now  provided  for.     It  would  be  still  better  if  at 
least  one  such  room  were  provided  in  connection  with  each 
large  school  in  the  city. 

4.  That  trained  teachers  be  secured  for  this  ungraded 
school  work. 

5.  That  no  ungraded  room  contain  more  than  15  pupils 
permanently  enrolled. 

6.  That  in  providing  for  ungraded  rooms,  especially  in 
new  buildings,  the  plan  of  the  standard  room,  as  outlined 
by  Dr.  Goddard,  be  followed  as  closely  as  possible. 

7.  That  special  classes,  wherever  practicable,  be  estab- 
lished for  gifted  children,  or  that  some  plan  be  adopted  by 
means  of  which  they  may  make  more  rapid  progress  through 
the  course  of  study. 

8.  That  greater  attention  be  given  to  the  problem  of 
children     who     show     evidences    of     becoming    socially 
undesirable. 


PART  III 

Buildings  and  Health 


CHAPTER    X 
THE    SCHOOL    PLANT1 

THE   PRESENT   BUILDINGS 

OF  the  34  buildings  at  present  in  use,  30  belong  to  an 
obsolete  type  of  school  architecture.  The  heating, 
lighting,  and  ventilation  of  most  of  these  buildings  are 
unsatisfactory.  There  are  not  enough  classrooms  to  accom- 
modate the  children.  Dark,  damp,  and  dingy  basement 
rooms  which  are  unfit  for  human  occupancy  are  used  as 
classrooms,  as  are  also  poorly  lighted  and  ill-ventilated  halls. 
Many  of  the  rooms  used  for  domestic  science  are  objection- 
able, both  from  the  hygienic  and  the  aesthetic  point  of  view. 
There  are  hardly  any  assembly  rooms.  There  are  no  school 
baths  in  any  primary  or  grammar  grade  school.  The  toilet 
arrangements  are  in  many  cases  unsanitary  and  unsightly. 
The  janitor  service  is  partly  good  and  partly  bad.  A  few 
of  the  sites  are  not  well  suited  to  school  purposes,  and  in 
the  case  of  more  than  half  the  schools  the  playground  space 
is  inadequate.  These  and  other  items  relating  to  the  school 
plant  warrant  individual  treatment  in  this  report. 

THE   SCHOOL   SITES 

A  school  is  not  properly  located  when  it  is  in  too  close 
proximity  to  railroads,  car  lines,  streets,  noisy  factories, 
saloons,  or  other  otherwise  morally  objectionable  places. 
It  is  also  necessary,  in  selecting  a  school  site,  to  take  account 
of  possible  shifts  of  population  and  of  possible  objectionable 
changes  which  may  later  take  place  in  the  environment. 
Above  all,  playgrounds  of  adequate  size  should  be  obtained 

1  Chapters  X,  XI,  and  XII  were  written  by  Professor  Lewis  M.  Terman.  — 
PUBLISHERS. 

229 


230         School  Organization  and  Administration 

before  the  increase  in  value  of  the  surrounding  real  estate 
renders  this  prohibitive. 

Little  adverse  criticism  can  be  made  as  to  the  location  of 
the  school  sites  except  in  two  or  three  cases.  Two  railroad 
lines  within  a  block  of  the  Lincoln  building  detract  from 
this  site,  and  a  few  others  are  located  rather  closer  to  street- 
car lines  than  is  desirable. 

There  is  no  school  located  where  the  surrounding  popula- 
tion seems  likely  to  decrease  to  a  point  which  would  render 
the  building  or  any  part  of  it  unnecessary.  Unfortunately, 
however,  there  has  not  always  been  sufficient  foresight  in 
anticipating  the  increase  of  needs  incident  to  the  growth  of 
population.  Many  of  the  school  sites  are  so  small  as  to 
make  it  impossible  to  locate  the  buildings  the  requisite  dis- 
tance from  the  street,  or  to  provide  playground  facilities 
for  the  children. 

SIZE   OF   SCHOOL   GROUNDS 

In  a  city  no  larger  and  no  more  crowded  than  Salt  Lake 
City,  a  school  site  ought  to  contain  not  less  than  200  square 
feet  for  each  child.  This  rule  will  require  about  five  acres 
for  a  site  which  may  reasonably  be  expected  sometime  to 
accommodate  1,000  to  1,200  pupils.  In  order  to  provide 
for  possible  increases  in  attendance  and  enlargement  of 
buildings,  every  new  school  site  provided  ought  to  contain, 
if  possible,  not  less  than  five  acres.  The  very  minimum 
which  should  be  regarded  permissible,  even  in  a  large  city, 
is  loo  square  feet  of  playground  space  for  each  child. 
Even  the  city  of  London  has  made  this  amount  the  legal 
minimum. 

The  figures  of  Table  XXXIX  show  how  far  many  of  the 
Salt  Lake  City  school  grounds  fall  below  the  minimum. 
The  figures  given  are  based  on  the  entire  area  of  the  school 
site,  inclusive  of  the  ground  on  which  the  building  is  lo- 
cated? If  the  area  of  the  building  had  been  deducted  the 
figures  would  have  been  in  most  cases  very  greatly  reduced. 


The  School  Plant 


231 


TABLE  XXXIX 

SIZE  OF  PRESENT  SCHOOL  SITES 
Group  I.    Less  than  100  sq.  ft.  per  Child 


School 

Enrollment 

Sq.ft. 
per  Child 

Emerson     

I  OOO 

AO 

Grant      

78  1 

60 

Fremont     

2Q2 

•JA 

Oquirrh   

724. 

75 

Longfellow     

•7C2 

77 

Lafayette    

8« 

SA 

Lowell     

6is 

88 

Franklin      

6M 

o? 

Wasatch     

780 

ne 

Hamilton    

7io 

06 

Total  enrollment  in  this  group:  6,824. 


Group  II.     100  to  130  sq.  ft.  per  Child 


School 

Enrollment 

Sq.  ft. 
per  Child 

Webster  

7IO 

IO2 

Sumner    

756 

108 

Lincoln    

45O 

112 

Forest     

<;6o 

1  2O 

Jefferson     

760 

1  2O 

Poplar  Grove         

417 

HO 

Total  enrollment  of  Group  II:  3,662. 


Group  III.     170/0  200  sq.  ft.  per  Child 


School 

Enrollment 

Sq.ft. 
per  Child 

Jackson   

802 

171 

Riverside        

820 

180 

Irving      

2Q  I 

180 

7  2O 

2OO 

Total  enrollment  of  Group  III:  2,233. 


232         School  Organization  and  Administration 


TABLE  XXXIX.  —  Continued 
Group  IV.    Above  200  sq.  ft.  per  Child 


School 

Enrollment 

Sq.  ft. 
per  Child 

Washington    

721 

22? 

Onequa       

4^6 

2"C6 

Ensign     

421 

">I7 

East  High       

1,200 

385 

Bonneville      

105 

403 

Hawthorne     

538 

404 

Bryant    

300 

412 

West  High      

870 

500 

Whittier      

750 

522 

Twelfth       

96 

567 

Training 

362 

1  ,03  7 

Total  enrollment  of  Group  IV:  5,668. 


OVER 200 SQ.FT.  PERCHILD 
170 -ZOO  SQ.FT.  PER  CHILD 
100-130  SQ.TT.  PER  CHILD 

LESS  THAN  100  SQ.FT.  PERCHILD 


FIG.  37.     SHOWING  PERCENTAGE  OF  CHILDREN  HAVING  PLAYGROUNDS 
OF  VARIOUS  SIZES 


The  School  Plant  233 

The  preceding  diagram  shows  the  percentage  distribution 
of  children  among  the  sites  of  these  four  sizes. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  note  that  the  last  three  buildings 
erected,  Whittier,  Hawthorne,  and  East  High,  all  have 
ample  grounds.  This  is  also  true  of  the  two  now  being 
built  in  the  vicinity  of  East  High  School,  but  it  is  not  true 
of  Jefferson,  which  was  erected  only  five  years  ago. 

Nowhere  else  in  the  school  system  is  forethought  more 
important  than  in  the  selection  of  well-located  and  ample 
sites,  in  anticipation  of  future  needs.  Blessings  or  tragedy 
hang  upon  the  choice.  Some  of  the  cramped  sites  listed 
above  could  not  now  be  enlarged  except  at  prohibitive  cost. 
In  the  case  of  others,  additions  are  still  feasible  and  ought 
to  be  made  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 

WASTE   OF   SPACE   IN    BUILDINGS 

Some  or  all  of  the  classrooms  or  halls  in  nearly  every 
building  have  an  excess  of  floor  space,  and  the  ceilings  of 
practically  all  the  buildings  are  from  i^  to  2^2  feet  higher 
than  the  standard.  This  is  true  to  a  certain  extent  even  in 
the  new  buildings,  excepting  the  East  High  and  the  Haw- 
thorne School.  The  best  size  for  a  classroom  is  22  x  28 
feet,  with  a  1 2-foot  ceiling.  The  greatest  size  permissible 
is  24  x  32  feet,  with  a  1 3-foot  ceiling.  Classrooms  of  30  x 
33  or  30  x  30,  with  a  ceiling  of  14  feet,  are  almost  the  rule 
in  Salt  Lake  City.  Measurements  of  the  floor  area  of  all 
the  classrooms  in  the  city,  which  were  made  by  the  teachers 
at  the  request  of  the  survey,  gave  the  facts  set  forth  in 
Figure  38. 

The  intent  of  such  construction  was  doubtless  that  of 
giving  children  and  teachers  ample  room  for  carrying  on 
their  work.  The  result,  however,  is  a  building  which  in 
many  respects  is  far  from  satisfactory  for  the  work  of  the 
school.  A  classroom  needlessly  large  is  more  costly  to  heat, 
and  usually  not  as  well  lighted.  The  children  in  the  rear 
seats  have  to  strain  their  eyes  to  see  what  is  written  on  the 


234         School  Organization  and  Administration 

blackboard,  and  the  teacher  has  to  strain  her  voice  to  make 
it  fill  the  room.  Order  is  more  difficult  to  maintain.  More- 
over, the  large  room  offers  a  constant  temptation  to  enlarge 
classes  beyond  the  point  where  good  teaching  is  possible. 


•flS  004 


FIG.  38.    SHOWING  PERCENTAGE  OF  SCHOOLROOMS  HAVING  VARIOUS 

AREAS 

Those  having  the  standard  area  are  shown  in  white;  the  others  represent  schoolrooms  which 
are  larger  than  is  necessary. 


THE   RESULT   OF   SUCH    EXCESS 

The  cost  of  such  excess  space  is  no  mean  item.  A  room 
30  x  30  has  nearly  50  per  cent,  more  floor  space  than  the 
standard  room  of  22  x  28,  and  one  of  27  x  30  has  an  excess 


The  School  Plant  .  235 

floor  area  of  about  25  per  cent.  A  room  30  x  30,  with  a 
14-foot  ceiling,  has  70  per  cent,  excess  of  cubical  contents 
as  compared  with  one  which  is  22  x  28  x  12;  or  an  excess 
of  56  per  cent,  as  compared  with  one  24  x  28  x  12.  The 
cost  of  a  schoolroom  is  roughly  (though  not  exactly)  in 
proportion  to  its  cubical  contents,  and  the  cost  of  building 
400  schoolrooms  having  an  average  excess  of  30  per  cent, 
in  cubical  contents  above  the  standard  has  certainly  involved 
a  waste  of  more  than  half  a  million  dollars. 

The  practical  outcome  of  extravagance  in  space  is  likely 
to  be  the  omission  of  much-needed  special  rooms  and  equip- 
ment, and  we  are  now  in  better  position  to  understand  why, 
in  the  schools  of  Salt  Lake  City,  the  domestic-science  work 
is  usually  relegated  to  some  dingy  corner  which  is  unfit 
for  regular  class  purposes;  why  manual  training  must  so 
often  be  carried  on  by  artificial  light;  why  there  are  no 
assembly  rooms ;  why  toilet  arrangements  are  so  inadequate 
and  cheap ;  why  there  is  not  a  single  bath  or  a  single  nurse's 
room  in  the  primary  or  grammar  schools;  why  approxi- 
mately 2,000  children  are  compelled  to  attend  school  in  dark 
cellars.  Reasonable  economy  in  school  planning  would 
have  supplied  most  if  not  all  of  these  unfortunate  omissions. 

Much  space  is  also  wasted  in  halls.  Instead  of  the  stand- 
ard width  of  12  to  14  feet,  a  width  of  16  to  24  feet  is 
found  in  a  majority  of  the  buildings.  The  Washington 
and  Lowell  schools  have  each  two  halls  approximately  24  x 
100  feet.  The  wasted  space  would  have  given  each  school 
four  or  five  additional  classrooms,  or  a  commodious  as- 
sembly room. 

LIGHTING 

The  following  is  a  statement  of  the  cardinal  laws  of 
school  lighting,  and  of  the  departures  therefrom  in  the 
schools  of  Salt  Lake  City: 

i.  The  light  should  enter  from  one  side  of  the  classroom 
only,  and  at  the  pupils'  left. 

If  it  enters  from  two  sides  there  are  sure  to  be  annoying 


236         School  Organization  and  Administration 

cross-lights  in  certain  parts  of  the  room,  and  if  there  are 
windows  in  the  rear  the  teacher  is  compelled  to  face  a  direct 
light.  This  is  trying  to  the  nerves  and  injurious  to  the 
health.  . 

The  following  table  shows  existing  conditions  in  the  Salt 
Lake  City  school  buildings: 

TABLE  XL 

THE  LIGHTING  OF  SALT  LAKE  CITY  SCHOOLROOMS 

Lighted  from  left  only      96  rooms      (Standard  method) 

Lighted  from  left  and  rear 250  rooms 

Lighted  from  right  and  rear 3  rooms 

Lighted  from  left  and  right 3  rooms 

Lighted  from  right  only 2  rooms 

Lighted  from  rear  only i  room 

Lighted  on  three  sides      46  rooms 

Lighted  partly  from  front 39  rooms 

More  than  half  of  light  from  rear      ....  120  rooms 


All  incorrectly 
lighted 


From  this  table  it  is  seen  that  less  than  22  per  cent,  of  the 
rooms  are  lighted  from  the  proper  direction,  and  over  88 
per  cent,  are  improperly  lighted.  Even  the  buildings  erected 
four  or  five  years  ago  (Jefferson,  Poplar  Grove,  and  the 
new  parts  of  Riverside  and  Wasatch)  have  a  large  propor- 
tion of  their  rooms  lighted  from  two  sides.  68.2  per  cent, 
of  all  the  teachers  in  the  city  are  compelled  to  face  light 
entering  from  the  rear  windows.  In  27.3  per  cent,  of  the 
rooms,  more  than  half  the  light  enters  from  the  rear.  Ques- 
tioned as  to  the  effects  on  health  resulting  from  facing  the 
light,  77  teachers  stated  that  ill  effects  had  been  experienced, 
and  15  of  these  stated  that  the  health  had  been  seriously 
injured  in  this  way. 

It  must  not  be  inferred  that  the  22  per  cent,  of  rooms  hav- 
ing light  on  the  left  only  are  properly  lighted.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  hardly  any  of  them  are.  Some  of  them  are  lighted 
from  the  north  or  south,  some  have  too  little  window  space, 
others  have  windows  placed  too  far  forward. 


The  School  Plant  237 

2.  The  building  should  be  so  oriented  that  the  windows 
of  each  classroom  are  on  the  east  or  west  side,  not  the  north 
or  south. 

Rooms  lighted  from  the  north  are  too  dark  on  cloudy 
days  and  are  less  healthful  than  rooms  which  receive 
direct  sunlight  a  part  of  the  day.  If  the  room  is  lighted 
from  the  south,  however,  the  direct  sunlight  enters  during 
the  entire  school  day  and,  falling  on  the  desks  of  pupils,  is 
annoying  and  injurious  to  the  eyes.  In  such  cases  the 
shades  are  likely  to  be  drawn  until  the  light  admitted  is  too 
small  in  amount,  and  badly  distributed.  A  possible  excep- 
tion in  favor  of  south  lighting  may  be  made  in  the  case  of 
kindergarten  rooms,  but  in  no  other  classrooms. 

In  Salt  Lake  City  no  rational  attention  seems  to  have 
been  given  to  the  matter  of  orientation,  previous  to  the  last 
three  or  four  buildings  erected.  If  anything,  south  lighting 
seems  to  have  been  preferred.  The  Washington  and  Lowell 
schools  were  evidently  planned  with  the  idea  of  giving  the 
sun  direct  access  to  as  many  rooms  as  possible  throughout 
the  day.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  dozens  of  rooms  in 
the  city  which  never  get  a  ray  of  direct  sunlight,  and  some 
of  these  rooms  are  in  damp  basements. 

The  only  way  to  secure  the  proper  orientation  of  class- 
rooms is  to  construct  long,  narrow  school  buildings,  run- 
ning north  and  south.  Those  of  Salt  Lake  City  are  pre- 
dominantly of  the  square  type,  with  eight  to  twelve  corner 
rooms  lighted  on  one  side  and  rear  and  a  number  of  side 
rooms  in  between  the  corner  rooms.  The  side  rooms  are 
lighted  in  about  equal  number  from  the  north,  east,  south, 
or  west. 

3.  The  window  space  should  be  between  20  per  cent, 
and  25  per  cent,  of  the  floor  space. 

The  following  tabular  statement  shows  the  number  of 
rooms  having  various  percentages  of  window  space  as  com- 
pared with  floor  space : 


238         School  Organization  and  Administration 


19  have  less  than  10  per  cent 

54  have  between  10  and  15  per  cent [  Below  standard 

154  have  between  15  and  20  per  cent 

139  have  between  20  and  25  per  cent Standard 

72  have  25  per  cent,  or  more Above  standard 

Figure  39  shows  the  same  facts  graphically. 


LESS  THAN 
20 


FIG.  39.    SHOWING  PROPORTION  OF  CLASSROOMS  HAVING  SUFFICIENT  AND 
INSUFFICIENT  WINDOW  AREA  IN  PROPORTION  TO  FLOOR  SPACE 

(Twenty  per  cent,  is  taken  as  the  minimum  standard) 

While  these  figures  show  that  a  number  of  rooms  are 
seriously  deficient  in  lighting  area,  it  is  seen  that  nearly 
half  are  generously  supplied  with  windows.  Taken  alone, 


The  School  Plant  239 

however,  these  figures  are  misleading.  A  room  may  have 
more  than  the  standard  amount  of  window  space  and  still 
be  badly  lighted,  owing  to  such  factors  as  the  improper 
location  of  windows,  north  orientation,  unsuitable  colors 
for  walls  and  ceiling,  the  improper  use  of  window  shades, 
or  the  presence  of  trees,  buildings,  or  other  light  obstruc- 
tions near  the  windows.  These  are  the  critical  factors  in 
the  school  lighting  of  Salt  Lake  City,  and  in  by  far  the 
larger  proportion  of  rooms  they  more  than  offset  the  ad- 
vantages of  liberal  window  space.  No  fewer  than  146 
of  the  440  rooms,  or  33  per  cent.,  have  trees,  walls,  or 
other  light  obstructions  within  50  feet  of  the  windows 
and  as  high  as  the  tops  of  the  windows.  This  is  also  true 
for  72  of  the  154  rooms  which  have  a  window  area  below 
standard. 

4.  The  windows  should  not  extend  lower  than  $l/2  feet 
from  the  floor,  and  they  should  reach  within  a  few  inches 
of  the  ceiling.  They  should  begin  within  18  inches  of  the 
rear  end  of  the  left  wall,  and  approach  no  closer  than  7  or  8 
feet  to  the  front  of  the  room. 

The  purpose  of  these  rules  is  to  control  the  direction  from 
which  the  light  shall  come.  The  only  light  which  does  any 
good  is  that  which  strikes  the  pupil's  book,  and  at  an  angle 
not  too  acute.  Light  which  strikes  the  pupil's  eyes  directly 
is  not  only  of  no  value,  but  actually  prevents  clear  vision. 

In  this  city  the  bottom  of  the  windows  is  usually  about  the 
right  height  from  the  floor,  but  there  is  often  too  much 
dead  wall  space  above  the  top.  A  far  worse  fault,  however, 
and  a  more  common  one,  is  the  improper  distribution  of 
windows  along  the  side  of  the  room.  Even  in  the  few 
rooms  which  are  lighted  entirely  from  the  left  there  is  ordi- 
narily too  much  dead  wall  space  behind  the  back  window, 
and  too  little  in  front  of  the  front  window.  That  is,  the 
window  area  as  a  whole  is  placed  too  far  forward.  Archi- 
tects are  prone  to  do  this  in  order  to  secure  symmetry,  but 
it  should  in  no  case  be  permitted.  Even  the  last  buildings 
constructed  in  Salt  Lake  City  have  this  fault  in  practically 


240         School  Organization  and  Administration 

every  room.     In  many  rooms  the  lighting  would  be  better 
if  the  front  window  were  kept  permanently  shaded. 

5.  The  windows  should  be  separated  by  mullions  not 
much  more  than  eight  inches  wide.     This  is  to  prevent 
troublesome  wedges  of  shadow  caused  by  the  dead  space 
between  the  windows.     The  rule  is  broken  in  nearly  every 
schoolroom  of  the  city.     Often  the  wall  space  between  the 
windows  is  three  to  five  feet  wide,  and  the  pupils  who  sit  in 
the  shadows  thus  produced  are  greatly  handicapped. 

6.  The  color  of  the  walls  should  be  a  light  buff  or  a  very 
light  green,  and  that  of  the  ceiling  should  be  white  or  an 
extremely  light  cream. 

The  reason  for  this  rule  is  obvious.  Dark  walls  and  ceil- 
ings absorb  the  light  instead  of  reflecting  it  upon  the  desks. 
A  very  light  buff  reflects  nearly  twice  as  much  light  as  a 
medium  shade  of  green. 

The  wall  and  ceiling  colors  prevailing  in  Salt  Lake  City 
are  several  shades  too  dark.  Many  a  room  which  would  be 
otherwise  reasonably  light  and  inviting  is  given  a  dark, 
dismal,  and  cheerless  aspect.  This  effect  is  often  enhanced 
by  blackened  streaks  of  dirt  and  smoke  which  have  come 
from  the  inlet  ducts  of  the  ventilating  system.  Five  min- 
utes in  some  of  these  worst  rooms  is  positively  depressing. 

A  serious  mistake  has  been  made  in  adopting  a  uniform 
color  scheme  for  all  the  schools.  Badly  lighted  rooms  should 
have  walls  and  ceiling  practically  white.  Many  of  the  base- 
ment rooms  and  others  which  are  objectionable  as  regards 
lighting  could  have  their  light  almost  doubled  by  proper 
color  treatment.  It  is  strongly  urged  that  practically  all 
the  rooms  in  the  city,  except  in  the  latest  schools,  be  retinted 
at  once,  and  under  the  direction  of  some  one  who  under- 
stands the  needs  of  a  classroom. 

7.  Window  shades,  when  used  at  all,  should  be  translu- 
cent, and  their  use  should  be  regulated  by  definite  rules  to 
be  followed  by  all  the  teachers. 

Shades  are  necessary  for  south  windows,  but  should  ordi- 
narily not  be  permitted  in  rooms  depending  solely  on  north 


The  School  Plant 


241 


light.     Their  use  on  east  and  west  windows  should  be 
strictly  regulated  by  rule. 

In  this  city  the  shades  are  uniformly  bad,  all  being  opaque, 
single,  and  fastened  at  the  top  of  the  window.  They  can- 
not be  drawn,  even  part  way,  without  cutting  off  the  best 


FIG.  40.    THE  "BISHOP  HARMAN"  PHOTOMETER,  USED  IN  THE  EXAMINA- 
[TION  OF  THE  LIGHTING  OF  SCHOOLROOMS 

light  of  the  room;  namely,  that  which  comes  from  the 
upper  part  of  the  window.  What  is  worse,  the  teachers 
gave  no  evidence  of  having  had  any  instruction  in  regard 
to  the  proper  use  of  shades.  In  many  rooms  which  would 
be  too  dark  under  the  best  conditions,  and  where  no  excuse 
exists  for  cutting  off  any  of  the  light  at  any  time,  shades 
were  found  drawn  clear  to  the  bottom  of  the  windows.  In 


242         School  Organization  and  Administration 

one  room,  about  16  x  30  feet  in  size,  having  only  two  win- 
dows and  those  directly  behind  the  backs  of  the  pupils,  one 
window  was  found  entirely  darkened  on  a  cloudy  day. 


LIGHT   TESTS 

Though  the  facts  set  forth  above  ought  to  be  convincing, 
we  are  able  to  add  the  results  of  light  tests  in  32  rooms.  A 
"  Bishop  Harman  "  photometer  was  used.  It  is  a  photom- 
eter of  recent  English  make,  and  is  well  adapted  for  the 
purpose.  Table  XLI  on  the  following  page  gives  the  re- 
sults of  the  tests  made. 

These  tests  were  nearly  all  made  while  classes  were 
in  session.  Window  shades  were  left  as  they  were  found. 
The  rooms  selected  for  the  tests  are  among  the  darkest  in 
the  city,  but  they  do  not  include  anything  like  all  of  those 
which  are  very  badly  lighted. 

About  10  per  cent,  of  the  schoolrooms  in  the  city  use 
artificial  light  a  part  of  the  time,  and  seven  rooms  all  the 
time.  The  method  of  artificial  lighting  is  unsatisfactory. 
The  lights  are  not  numerous  enough,  and  they  are  usually 
not  properly  distributed.  Often  they  are  placed  so  that 
the  light  strikes  the  pupil  directly  in  the  face.  The  light 
shades  are  also  unsatisfactory.  If  the  walls  and  ceilings 
were  of  a  lighter  color  it  would  perhaps  be  preferable  to 
use  the  indirect  system  where  artificial  lighting  is  necessary. 

HEATING 

While  the  heating  plants  in  general  use  would  seem  to 
be  well  suited  to  the  climate  and  the  type  of  school  build- 
ings, there  are  individual  rooms  in  many  buildings  which, 
according  to  the  statements  of  principals  and  teachers,  are 
not  properly  heated.  The  following  are  some  of  the  chief 
complaints  voiced:  Not  enough  heat  (Monroe,  Franklin, 
Lincoln,  Freemont,  and  West  High)  ;  heat  not  well  dis- 
tributed (Hamilton,  Irving,  Lowell,  and  Sumner)  ;  heat 


The  School  Plant 


243 


TABLE  XLI 
SHOWING  RESULTS  OF  LIGHT  TESTS  ON  DARKEST  DESK  OF  32  CLASSROOMS 


Name  of  School 

No.  of 
Room 

Time 
of  Day 

Weather 
Conditions 

Light  in 
Foot   Can- 
dles (Min. 
permissi- 
ble is  9 
foot 
candles) 

Lincoln      

6 

7 

i 

5 
i 

5 
C 

9 

5 

2 

5 
7 

12 

3 

I 

2 

4 
3 
3 
5 
7 
3 
29 
As'ly 
36 

10 

i 

20 
22 

basem't 
.     Nn? 

".IS 
ii.  20 
11.25 
11.30 
2.30 
3-oo 
3-io 

2.OO 
2.IO 
2.OO 
2.IO 
2.IS 
2.  2O 

3-oo 
3-io 

3-iS 
3.20 

3-3° 
11.30 
11.40 
"•45 

11.00 

340 

3-45 
3-5° 
3-15 
3-20 
3.25 
3-3° 

10.00 
11.00 

partly  cloudy 
partly  cloudy 
partly  cloudy 
partly  cloudy 
cloudy 
cloudy 
cloudy 
cloudy 
cloudy 
cloudy 
cloudy 
cloudy 
cloudy 
cloudy 
cloudy 
cloudy 
cloudy 
partly  cloudy 
partly  cloudy 
partly  cloudy 
partly  cloudy 
clear 
clear 
clear 
clear 
clear 
clear 
clear 
clear 
dear 
clear 

5-5 
4-5 

2. 

3-5 
3- 
2-5 
8. 

2. 
2-5 
2-5 

4- 
i-5 

2. 

i-5 

2. 

i-5 

2. 

6. 
4-5 
4- 
4-5 
3-5 
S- 
i. 

i-5 
2-5 
3- 
4- 
3-5 

2. 

3-5 

Lincoln      

Lincoln      

Lincoln      

Riverside      

Webster    

Webster    

Grant    

Grant    

Longfellow    

Longfellow    

Longfellow    

Longfellow    

Franklin    

Franklin    

Franklin    

Franklin    

Poplar  Grove       

Bryant      

Bryant      

Bryant      

Lowell       

Monroe     

Monroe     

Monroe     

Lafayette      

Lafayette      

Lafayette      

Lafayette      

Jackson     No? 

Fremont    

244         School  Organization  and  Administration 

especially  unsatisfactory  in  basement  (Franklin).  Other 
complaints  came  from  Bonneville,  Jackson,  Longfellow, 
Twelfth,  and  East  High. 

Complaints  based  on  the  everyday  experience  of  princi- 
pals and  teachers  do  not,  of  course,  give  us  the  facts  about 
the  system  which  a  heating  engineer  would  want  to  know, 
but  they  do  indicate  in  a  general  way  whether  faults  exist. 
Only  extended  observation  and  tests  by  a  qualified  expert 
would  give  the  remedy  in  each  case. 

The  best  test  of  whether  a  heating  plant  is  working  sat- 
isfactorily is  the  simple  one  of  making  temperature  records 
in  each  room  of  a  building  at  successive  hours  of  the  school 
day.  During  the  months  of  November  and  December, 
1914,  and  January,  1915,  the  school  nurses  of  Salt  Lake 
City  recorded  thermometer  readings  in  nearly  all  the  rooms 
below  the  high  schools.  The  temperature  of  each  room 
that  had  a  thermometer  was  recorded  three  different  times, 
once  in  November,  once  in  December,  and  again  in  January. 
In  all,  1,157  records  were  made.  These  were  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  survey  staff  by  the  board  of  health,  and 
their  results  are  summarized  in  the  following  table : 

TABLE  XXII 
TEMPERATURES  FOUND  IN  CLASSROOMS 

Readings  below  60  degrees      14  or    i  per  cent. 

Readings  either  60  or  61  degrees 25  or    2  per  cent. 

Readings  either  62  or  63  degrees 56  or  4.8  per  cent. 

Readings  either  64  or  65  degrees 109  or    9  per  cent. 

Readings  either  66  or  67  degrees 1 60  or  13  per  cent. 

(STANDARD)  readings  either  68  or  69  degrees      .    .    .    .  343  or  29  per  cent. 

Readings  either  70  or  71  degrees 248  or  2 1  per  cent. 

Readings  either  72  or  73  degrees 113  or  9  per  cent. 

Readings  either  74  or  75  degrees 61  or    5  per  cent. 

Readings  either  76  or  77  degrees 14  or    i  per  cent. 

Readings  either  78  or  79  degrees 7  or  .6  per  cent. 

Readings  either  80  or  above 7  or  .6  per  cent. 

If  we  call  68  to  69  degrees  standard,  it  is  seen  that  only 
29  per  cent,  of  the  records  are  entirely  satisfactory.  If  we 


The  School  Plant 


245 


define  standard  as  everything  in  the  range  from  66  degrees 
to  71  degrees,  inclusive,  we  have  63  per  cent,  of  the  records 
satisfactory.  Even  on  this  liberal  basis,  considerably  more 
than  a  third  of  the  rooms  were  improperly  heated  at  the 


FIG  41.    SHOWING  FREQUENCY  OF  DIFFERENT  TEMPERATURES  IN  CLASSROOMS 

time  the  records  were  taken,  and  what  was  true  on  those 
days  doubtless  holds  for  most  of  the  other  days  of  the 
school  year.  Members  of  the  survey  staff  repeatedly  en- 
tered schoolrooms  which  had  the  stifling  temperature  of  75 
to  80  degrees.  Judging  from  the  records,  we  may  conclude 
that  more  than  1,200  children  (more  exactly  7.2  per  cent. 


246         School  Organization  and  Administration 

of  the  number  attending)  are  daily  subjected  to  suffocating 
temperatures  above  74  degrees.  It  is  little  wonder  that  20 
per  cent,  are  subject  to  frequent  colds,  or  that  more  than 
8  per  cent,  have  chronic  nose  or  throat  trouble.  (See 
Figure  43,  page  291.) 

It  is  evident  from  the  above  facts  that  either  the  ther- 
mostats need  some  attention,  or  else  the  method  of  their 
supervision  by  janitors,  and  probably  both.  Professional 
training  of  janitors  and  strict  supervision  of  their  work  by 
the  school  principals  would  doubtless  materially  increase 
the  effectiveness  of  the  heating  systems. 

VENTILATION 

The  plenum  system,  aspiration,  and  natural  ventilation 
are  almost  equally  employed.  The  East  High  School  has 
the  exhaust  system.  Those  depending  entirely  on  natural 
ventilation  are  Bonneville,  Irving,  Jordan,  Forest  and  Whit- 
tier  Annexes,  Lake  Breeze,  Twelfth,  and  West  High  (main 
building). 

Although  time  was  not  available  for  making  tests,  the 
fact  was  evident  that  the  ventilation  of  many  of  the  schools 
could  not  be  satisfactory.  This  is  of  course  necessarily  true 
of  those  buildings  having  only  natural  ventilation,  and  it  is 
probably  true  of  many  of  the  others.  There  is  no  satis- 
factory system  of  ventilation  for  school  buildings  which 
does  not  employ  some  mechanical  means  of  driving  the  air 
in  as  it  is  needed.  The  gravity  system  is  satisfactory  only 
when  the  temperature  of  the  air  outside  the  building  is  at 
least  as  low  as  thirty  degrees.  When  the  weather  is  warmer 
than  this  no  gravity  system  ever  devised  will  afford  the 
desired  circulation  of  air.  Each  child  should  be  furnished 
with  at  least  2,000  cubic  feet  of  air  per  hour  (the  standard 
for  high-school  pupils  is  2,500  cubic  feet  per  hour),  and  this 
is  of  course  just  as  necessary  in  warm  as  in  cold  weather. 
In  weather  which  is  much  above  freezing,  however,  a  build- 
ing which  depends  on  the  gravity  system  will  have  very 


The  School  Plant  247 

much  less  than  the  amount  of  air  renewal.  The  efficiency 
of  natural  ventilation,  which  is  doubtful  at  best,  is  also 
greatly  reduced  when  the  difference  between  the  indoor  and 
the  outdoor  temperature  is  not  very  great. 

Mechanical  means  are  therefore  necessary  for  accelerating 
the  rate  of  air  circulation.  For  this  purpose  either  plenum 
or  exhaust  fans,  or  both,  may  be  used.  The  exhaust  sys- 
tem alone  is  never  satisfactory,  because  of  the  impossibility 
of  completely  controlling  the  source  of  supply  of  fresh  air. 
Leakage  into  the  room  occurs  at  doors  and  windows,  and 
sometimes  through  the  walls.  Often  air  is  sucked  into  the 
classrooms  from  basements,  toilets,  or  other  unwholesome 
quarters.  Plenum  fans  are  the  only  means  of  controlling 
the  source  of  fresh  air. 

OTHER    FACTORS   IN   VENTILATION 

However,  the  installation  of  a  plenum  system  does  not  of 
itself  guarantee  satisfactory  ventilation.  Other  factors  of 
great  importance  are  size  and  location  of  both  inlet  and  out- 
let ducts,  location  of  main  intake,  size  of  fan,  number,  size, 
and  location  of  aspiration  flues,  etc.  The  most  common  mis- 
take is  that  of  making  the  inlet  and  outlet  duct  for  each 
room  so  small  that  an  adequate  supply  of  air  cannot  be  fur- 
nished without  being  driven  in  at  too  high  a  speed,  causing 
a  draft.  If  the  ducts  are  not  properly  located  there  is  no 
guarantee  against  short-circuiting  or  other  failure  of  air 
circulation.  If  the  main  intake  is  located  near  the  ground, 
or  near  a  dusty  street  or  playground,  the  air  driven  in  is 
likely  to  be  impure  or  dusty.  The  same  result  takes  place 
if  the  fan  room  is  not  clean,  or  if  it  is  not  separated  from 
the  boiler  room.  If  aspiration  flues  are  employed  these 
must  be  sufficiently  numerous,  and  they  must  be  properly 
located,  high,  and  well  heated  to  insure  adequate  circula- 
tion of  air. 

All  of  the  above  are  common  faults  in  the  ventilation  of 
school  buildings  in  Salt  Lake  City.  In  some  buildings  it 


248         School  Organization  and  Administration 

is  doubtful  whether  the  mechanical  system  in  use  is  very 
much  more  effective  than  natural  ventilation  would  be. 
Complaints  from  teachers  and  principals  come  from  build- 
ings with  various  types  of  ventilation.  Among  these  are 
Franklin,  Fremont,  Wasatch,  Hamilton,  Jackson,  Washing- 
ton, Onequa,  Oquirrh,  Sumner,  and  West  High. 

POOR   VENTILATION    COMMON 

That  imperfect  ventilation  is  rather  widespread  is  also 
indicated  by  1,090  records  taken  by  the  nurses,  who,  when 
making  the  temperature  records,  also  reported  on  the  satis- 
factoriness  of  ventilation  in  each  room.  This  was  done  in 
November,  December,  and  again  in  January,  for  almost 
every  schoolroom  in  the  city.  These  records  are  based  on 
the  general  impression  made  by  the  air  of  the  rooms  upon 
the  nurses,  and,  while  these  are  doubtless  less  trustworthy 
than  tests  would  have  furnished,  they  give  at  least  a  rough 
idea  as  to  the  quality  of  ventilation.  These  records  show 
the  ventilation  as  less  than  satisfactory  in  42  per  cent,  of  the 
rooms,  and  bad  in  8.2  per  cent. 

Ventilation  "good" 638,  or  58.5  per  cent. 

Ventilation  "fair" 362,  or  38.2  per  cent. 

Ventilation  "poor" 90,  or    8.3  per  cent. 

The  choice  and  control  of  a  ventilating  system  is  of 
course  bound  up  with  the  question  of  heating.  Neither  in 
respect  to  heating  nor  ventilation  is  it  possible  to  set  forth 
in  detail  here  the  methods  which  should  be  followed.  Nor 
should  this  be  necessary.  A  superintendent  of  buildings,  an 
engineer  familiar  with  the  latest  developments  in  this  line 
and  clothed  with  the  proper  authority,  could  be  depended 
upon  both  to  correct  the  faults  of  the  heating  and  ventilat- 
ing systems  in  use  (as  far  as  correction  is  possible)  and  to 
furnish  expert  advice  in  the  planning  of  future  buildings. 
It  cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasized  that  these  are  mat- 
ters for  the  expert.  No  board  of  education  is  competent 


The  School  Plant  249 

to  decide  questions  either  of  heating  or  ventilation,  and  ex- 
perience also  proves  that  it  is  far  from  safe  to  leave  the 
decision  as  to  the  system  and  details  of  arrangement  entirely 
to  the  architect 

It  is  recommended  that  in  future  buildings,  and  wher- 
ever possible  in  old  buildings,  air  washers  be  installed.  The 
discolored  walls  of  very  many  rooms  show  that  dirty  air  is 
being  forced  into  the  buildings.  Air  washers  are  not  ex- 
pensive, and  they  prevent  the  breathing  of  much  injurious 
dust.  The  prevalence  of  smoke  in  the  atmosphere  of  Salt 
Lake  City  during  certain  months  of  the  year  renders  their 
use  more  than  ordinarily  urgent  in  this  city.  This  would 
also  involve  the  humidification  of  the  schoolroom  air.  At 
present  no  special  effort  is  made  in  this  line.  Without 
proper  humidifying  apparatus  the  humidity  of  the  air  in 
the  schoolroom  is  certain  to  be  often  as  low  as  15  to  25 
per  cent.,  which  is  as  dry  as  the  air  of  Sahara  Desert.  Ex- 
cessive dryness  of  the  air  causes  nervousness  and  restless- 
ness, and  gives  rise  to  nose  and  throat  troubles.  Even 
plants  have  a  hard  struggle  to  live  in  such  an  atmosphere. 

BASEMENT   AND    HALL   CLASSROOMS 

In  Salt  Lake  City  there  are  seventy-four  basement  rooms 
used  as  regular  classrooms,  besides  a  few  others  which  are 
used  for  special  class  purposes.  Halls  are  also  utilized  for 
classes  to  the  equivalent  of  forty-six  classrooms.  If  the 
attendance  in  these  basement  and  hall  groups  averages  30, 
which  is  probably  a  low  estimate,  it  is  seen  that  there  are 
not  far  from  2,220  children  who  have  no  proper  accommo- 
dation. This  is  more  than  10  per  cent,  of  the  entire 
enrollment. 

While  it  may  be  possible  to  defend  the  use  of  a  few  of 
the  best  basement  rooms,  such  as  those  at  the  Wasatch 
School,  there  is  no  questioning  the  fact  that  most  of  these 
underground  rooms  are  unfit  for  school  purposes.  By  far 
the  majority  of  them  are  dark,  gloomy,  damp,  and  ill-ven- 


250         School  Organization  and  Administration 

tilated.  According  to  statements  made  by  teachers  and 
principals  a  number  of  them  are  also  improperly  heated. 
Some  are  so  dark  that  artificial  lighting  is  necessary,  even 
on  clear  days.  The  amount  of  light  on  the  darkest  desk 
of  some  of  these  rooms  was  found,  by  actual  measurement, 
to  be  less  than  one-fifth  the  minimum  which  should  ever  be 
permitted. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  argue  the  unfitness  of  such  dismal 
and  unhealthful  cellar  rooms  for  school  purposes.  A  city 
which  requires  children  to  attend  school  in  such  quarters  in- 
curs a  grave  responsibility.  The  children  enrolled  in  the 
basement  rooms  are  largely  in  the  first  and  second  grades 
and  the  kindergarten,  the  very  children  who  are  most  sus- 
ceptible to  injury  from  unwholesome  physical  environment. 
One  may  well  wonder,  too,  whether  such  an  environment 
does  not  have  its  subtle  mental  effects,  and  whether  it  tends 
to  provoke  on  the  part  of  children  just  entering  school  the 
right  outlook  upon  things  educational  and  the  desired  atti- 
tude toward  them. 

THESE   SHOULD   BE  ABANDONED 

Steps  should  be  taken  without  delay  to  abandon  the  use 
of  nearly  all  of  the  basement  rooms.  Many  of  them  could 
be  made  over  into  baths,  nurse's  rooms,  toilets,  etc.  Some, 
however,  are  hardly  fit  even  for  these  purposes.  In  future 
buildings  no  basement  rooms  should  be  provided  which 
could  by  any  possibility  be  used  for  classes,  except,  under 
the  right  conditions,  rooms  for  manual  training  or  domestic 
science.  We  would  emphasize  the  phrase  "  under  right 
conditions."  Most  of  the  basement  rooms  now  in  use  are 
unfit  even  for  manual  or  domestic  work.  Most  are  so  thor- 
oughly bad  that  it  is  hard  to  say  which  shou!4  be  aban- 
doned first,  but  those  of  the  following  schools  are  among 
the  worst:  Jackson,  Lincoln,  Franklin,  Sumner,  Oquirrh, 
Lowell,  and  Washington.  Other  cases,  however,  are  almost 
as  urgent. 


The  School  Plant  251 

As  already  stated,  forty-six  class  groups  recite  in  hall- 
ways. The  use  of  halls  for  class  purposes  is  hardly  less  ob- 
jectionable than  that  of  basements.  Halls  are  less  subject 
to  dampness,  but  their  lighting,  heating,  and  ventilation  are 
often  as  bad  or  worse.  The  danger  from  dust  is  much 
greater,  and  the  noise  is  likely  to  be  disturbing.  On  the 
whole,  however,  halls  are  to  be  preferred  to  basements  when 
it  is  necessary  to  choose  between  two  such  undesirable  evils. 

Better  than  either  is  the  portable  schoolhouse.  If  pro- 
vided in  sufficient  numbers  to  take  the  place  of  basements, 
though,  these  would  seriously  reduce  the  ground  area  avail- 
able for  play,  but  in  themselves  they  are  far  from  bad. 
When  the  ceiling  is  painted  white  they  are  well  lighted,  and 
their  ventilation  can  be  made  fairly  satisfactory  by  means 
of  the  jacketed  stove.  Those  now  in  use  have  ceilings  too 
dark,  and  are  overheated  by  a  poor  type  of  stove.  Portables 
are  likely  to  be  uncomfortably  warm  in  warm  weather,  and 
the  floors  are  usually  cold  in  winter.  With  all  their  faults, 
however,  they  are  a  great  improvement  over  basement  and 
hall  rooms. 

SCHOOL   DESKS 

The  main  requirements  of  school  seating  are:  (i)  that 
the  seat  should  be  the  right  height  to  permit  the  feet  to  rest 
easily  on  the  floor;  (2)  that  the  desk  should  be  high  enough 
to  render  stooping  unnecessary,  and  low  enough  that  the 
arms  will  not  be  unduly  elevated;  and  (3)  that  the  seat 
project  under  the  edge  of  the  desk  two  inches.  There  are 
other  minor  requirements,  but  these  are  the  most  essential. 

The  first  two  rules  cannot  be  followed  unless  each  room 
contains  adjustable  desks  to  the  extent  of  about  30  per  cent, 
of  the  entire  number,  or  at  least  three  sizes  of  ordinary 
desks.  It  is  never  possible  to  fit  all  the  children  of  a  given 
room  in  seats  of  one  size,  because  in  practically  every  class 
the  largest  children  are  from  eight  inches  to  sixteen  inches 
taller  than  the  smallest. 


252         School  Organization  and  Administration 

Of  440  rooms  from  which  data  were  secured  in  this  city, 
284,  or  86  per  cent.,  have  no  adjustable  desks,  and  only  10 
per  cent,  have  10  or. over.  Even  where  adjustable  desks 
have  been  supplied  they  are  not  always  adjusted  with  the 
proper  frequency  and  care.  In  13  out  of  45  rooms  with 
adjustable  desks  the  desks  had  not  been  adjusted  since  last 
December.  At  least  twice  a  year  should  be  the  rule.  In 
one  case  the  principal  was  not  even  aware  that  certain  desks 
were  adjustable,  and  when  his  attention  was  called  to  the 
fact  he  was  evidently  surprised.  The  adjusting  of  desks 
seems  to  be  left  largely  to  the  janitors,  who,  of  course, 
know  little  or  nothing  about  the  requirements  of  school 
seating  and  are  prone  to  neglect  the  matter.  Many  of  the 
rooms  lacking  adjustable  desks  are  equipped  with  desks  of 
only  one  size. 

Whether  the  third  rule  is  followed,  namely  that  the  seat 
should  project  at  least  two  inches  under  the  desk,  depends 
entirely  on  the  authority  responsible  for  putting  down  the 
seats.  It  is  of  course  as  easy  to  set  them  correctly  as  in- 
correctly. Failure  to  follow  the  rule  on  this  point  inevitably 
causes  round  shoulders  and  cramped  lungs.  And  yet,  in 
Salt  Lake  City,  the  rule  is  uniformly  and  consistently 
broken.  In  more  than  200  rooms  visited  by  the  writer  there 
was  hardly  a  desk  correctly  set. 

It  is  necessary  to  make  one  other  criticism  of  the  desks. 
Many  of  these  look  so  old  and  worn  that  the  attractiveness 
of  the  room  is  severely  marred.  The  worst  of  these,  unless 
they  can  be  replaced  by  desks  of  a  better  type,  ought  to  be 
refinished. 

In  various  respects  most  of  the  desks  now  in  use  belong 
to  an  obsolete  type.  In  the  future  purchase  of  desks  it  is 
urged  that  careful  study  be  made  of  some  of  the  modern 
types  which  are  more  satisfactory  from  the  hygienic  point 
of  view.  Though  it  should  go  without  saying,  it  needs  to  be 
emphasized  that  cheapness  in  school  desks  is  not  the  main 
desideratum. 


The  School  Plant  253 


BLACKBOARDS 

The  blackboard  space  in  practically  all  the  schools  is  gen- 
erous. The  composition  blackboard  is  the  type  in  general 
use.  This  gives  fairly  satisfactory  results  if  kept  in  repair, 
and  if  the  room  is  not  too  damp.  Except  in  the  damp  base- 
ment rooms,  most  of  those  seen  were  in  reasonably  good 
condition.  The  slate  blackboard  is  to  be  preferred,  but  in 
setting  it  much  care  is  necessary  in  order  to  prevent  uneven 
joints.  It  is  more  costly,  but  more  satisfactory  in  the  long 
run. 

Blackboards  should  reach  within  26  inches  of  the  floor 
in  the  primary  grades,  and  within  30  inches  in  the  grammar 
grades.  They  were  found  from  4  to  6  inches  too  high  in 
52  classrooms,  and  from  7  to  12  inches  too  high  in  22 
classrooms. 

CLOAKROOMS 

Unsightly  rows  of  coats  and  hats  disfigure  the  halls  of 
all  the  schools.  In  future  buildings  cloakrooms  should  be 
provided,  one  for  each  classroom.  The  best  location  for 
the  cloakroom  is  directly  behind  the  teacher's  desk.  It 
should  have  no  door  entering  from  the  hall,  but  should  be 
connected  with  the  classroom  by  two  doors,  one  on  either 
side  of  the  teacher's  desk.  This  arrangement  permits  suit- 
able control  of  the  room  by  the  teacher,  and  minimizes  the 
danger  of  pilfering  and  other  annoyances.  The  cloakroom 
should  of  course  be  well  lighted  and  ventilated.  Ventilation 
can  be  managed  by  having  a  part  of  the  air  of  the  classroom 
circulate'  (through  perforated  doors)  into  the  cloakroom  on 
its  way  to  the  outlet  ducts. 


SPECIAL   ROOMS 

In  order  to  be  regarded  as  strictly  modern,  a  city  school 
building  should   ordinarily  have  the   following  specially 


254         School  Organization  and  Administration 

planned  rooms :  An  assembly  room,  a  library,  a  rest  room, 
a  kindergarten  room,  a  nurse's  room,  shower  baths  with 
dressing  booths,  and  rooms  for  manual  training,  sewing, 
and  cooking.  An  art  room  is  also  desirable.  Proper  pro- 
vision should  be  made  for  these  in  the  original  plans,  as  the 
ordinary  classroom  can  seldom  be  worked  over  satisfac- 
torily into  a  special  room. 

The  kindergarten  room  (or  rooms)  should  of  course  be 
on  the  first  floor,  and  should  be  extremely  well  lighted.  A 
south  exposure,  though  objectionable  for  other  classrooms, 
is  well  adapted  for  kindergartens.  The  kindergarten  (pref- 
erably also  the  first  grade)  should  have  its  own  toilet,  with 
small  fixtures. 

The  rooms  to  be  used  for  cooking  should  of  course  be 
planned  for  the  special  equipment  needed,  and  should  be 
bright  and  attractive.  To  use  for  this  purpose  a  room  which 
is  dark,  dingy,  and  ill-ventilated  is  subversive  of  the  very 
purposes  for  which  domestic  science  is  taught. 

The  manual-training  rooms  should  be  located  where  the 
noise  will  not  disturb  classes,  and  should  always  be  well 
lighted.  These  should  have  a  storeroom  of  liberal 
dimensions. 

The  library  need  not  be  large,  but  it  should  be  excep- 
tionally well  lighted  and  attractively  furnished. 

The  art  room  should  be  given  a  north  exposure,  in  order 
to  avoid  direct  sunlight,  but  it  must  have  a  large  amount  of 
lighting  surface. 

The  nurse's  room  should  be  on  the  first  floor,  and  need 
not  be  large.  It  should  have  abundant  light,  running  water, 
and  a  built-in  cabinet  for  the  storing  of  first-aid  material  and 
other  equipment. 

The  assembly  room  is  the  most  important  part  of  the 
building.  Its  inclusion  in  all  new  buildings  is  one  of  the 
most  important  steps  toward  the  "  wider  use  of  the  school 
plant."  Nothing  else  about  the  building  so  operates  to  bring 
the  school  and  the  home  together.  The  total  valuation  of 
the  school  buildings  and  grounds  of  Salt  Lake  City  is  given 


The  School  Plant  255 

as  $3,041,343.  This  investment  is  productive  only  six 
hours  a  day  for  200  days  of  the  year;  or  a  total  of  1,200 
hours  per  year.  Everything  that  promotes  increased  use 
of  the  school  plant  ought  to  be  encouraged,  and  the  assembly 
room  certainly  belongs  in  this  category.  Some  of  the  most 
important  considerations  in  its  planning  are  size,  easy  ac- 
cessibility, and  safety  from  fire. 

Special  schoolrooms  in  this  city  are  usually  conspicuous 
for  their  absence.  Only  a  small  minority  of  the  buildings 
are  provided  with  an  assembly  room.  Rooms  used  for  cook- 
ing, sewing,  manual  training,  and  library  are  seldom 
adapted  to  the  purpose,  and  are  often  rooms  which  are  too 
dark,  damp,  or  inaccessible  to  be  used  for  regular  classes. 
The  buildings  constructed  in  the  last  two  or  three  years 
are  improvements  in  this  respect,  but  there  is  still  not  a 
nurse's  room  in  the  city,  and  not  a  bath  in  the  grades  below 
the  high  school.  Nor  do  all  of  the  recent  buildings  contain 
an  assembly  room. 

Special  rooms  of  the  above  types  are  to  be  regarded  as 
necessities,  not  as  luxuries.  They  should  be  included  in 
future  school  buildings  as  a  mere  matter  of  course.  The 
argument  that  they  cost  a  good  deal  of  money  has  no 
weight.  School  facilities  which  poorer  cities  can  and  do 
afford  are  surely  not  too  costly  for  Salt  Lake  City.  As 
already  shown  this  city  has  wasted  enough  money  in  un- 
economical building  plans  to  have  supplied  most  of  the 
special  rooms  needed. 

OPEN-AIR   SCHOOLS 

Salt  Lake  City  is  one  of  the  few  cities  of  its  size  in  the 
country  without  an  open-air  school.  The  impression  seems 
to  prevail  that  they  are  unnecessary  here  because  of  the  ex- 
cellence of  the  climate.  There  is  absolutely  no  ground  for 
such  a  view.  Recent  and  widespread  investigations  justify 
the  conclusion  that  in  the  schools  of  any  climate  there  are 
numerous  children  with  latent  tuberculosis,  and  many  others 


256         School  Organization  and  Administration 

who  are  predisposed  to  it.  The  disease  is  rapidly  coming 
to  be  looked  upon  as  a  "  children's  disease,"  one  which  is 
acquired  by  a  large  proportion  of  children  everywhere. 
There  is  reason  to  believe  that  a  majority  of  the  cases 
which  do  not  become  "  manifest  "  until  adult  life  have 
existed  in  latent  form  since  childhood. 

The  proportion  of  school  children  with  manifest  tubercu- 
losis is  of  course  relatively  small,  usually  not  more  than  a 
half  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  total  enrollment.  Even  at  this 
rate  the  share  of  Salt  Lake  City  would  be  100.  There  is 
little  doubt  that  careful  medical  examination  of -all  the 
school  children  would  disclose  enough  tuberculous  children 
to  fill  three  or  four  open-air  classes.  California,  with  a  cli- 
mate fully  as  unfavorable  to  tuberculosis  as  that  of  Salt 
Lake  City,  has  its  open-air  schools  in  every  city  of  any  con- 
siderable size. 

Many  children  who  are  not  actually  tuberculous  would 
benefit  greatly  from  such  classes.  This  includes  all  who  are 
ill-nourished,  subject  to  colds  or  bronchitis,  or  otherwise 
lacking  in  physical  resistance.  Facts  have  been  presented 
which  indicate  that  probably  not  far  from  two  thousand 
children  in  this  city  are  physically  a  good  deal  below  nor- 
mal. There  is  little  doubt  that  the  condition  of  most  of 
these  could  be  improved  by  the  right  kind  of  school  adapta- 
tions in  their  favor.  For  hundreds  of  them,  at  least,  the 
open-air  class  is  the  one  remedy  needed.  No  building  to 
be  erected  in  the  future  should  be  without  one  or  more  open- 
air  classrooms. 

SCHOOL   BATHS 

The  value  of  school  baths  deserves  special  emphasis. 
Two  shower  rooms,  one  for  boys  and  one  for  girls,  should 
be  found  in  every  new  building.  They  are  especially  neces- 
sary in  certain  parts  of  the  city,  and  if  possible  they  should 
yet  be  installed  in  such  schools  as  the  Fremont,  Jackson, 
Lincoln,  and  Riverside.  Basement  rooms  which  are  now 


The  School  Plant  257 

unfortunately  used  as  regular  classrooms  could  be  fitted  up 
for  this  purpose,  at  moderate  expense. 

School  baths  promote  the  health  of  the  children,  aid  in 
instilling  lifelong  habits  of  personal  hygiene,  and  greatly 
improve  the  atmosphere  of  the  schoolroom.  The  members 
of  the  survey  staff  visited  many  schoolrooms  which  were 
filled  with  sickening  odors  from  unclean  bodies.  Even  in 
the  poorer  countries  of  western  Europe,  where  school  econ- 
omy is  more  necessary  than  in  this  country,  baths  are  in- 
cluded in  all  new  school  buildings. 

Admirable  suggestions  for  planning  school  baths  are  to 
be  found  in  Dresslar's  American  Schoolhouses,  published 
by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education,  and  in  School 
Hygiene  by  the  same  author  (Macmillan).  Important  con- 
siderations are  good  light,  impervious  floor,  dressing 
booths,  individual  showers  for  the  older  girls,  drainage, 
heating  apparatus  for  controlling  the  temperature  of  the 
water,  etc. 

TOILETS 

Only  in  the  new  high  school  are  the  toilets  fully  up  to 
the  standard  requirements.  In  others  of  the  recently  built 
schools  they  are  not  bad.  In  most  of  the  older  buildings, 
however,  they  are  far  from  satisfactory,  and  the  worst 
are  unfit  for  use.  Wooden  partitions  between  urinals,  cor- 
roding metal  urinal  troughs  with  low  backs,  toilet  seats  of 
only  one  size,  inadequate  number  of  seats  and  urinals,  im- 
proper flushing,  location  in  dark  and  ill-ventilated  quarters, 
inaccessibility,  inadequate  supply  of  paper,  —  these  are 
common  faults,  some  of  which  are  found  in  almost  every 
building,  and  in  certain  schools  all.  The  worst  toilets  should 
be  remodeled  at  once. 

One  of  the  least  excusable  faults  is  an  inadequate  num- 
ber of  seats  and  urinals.  There  should  be  one  seat  for 
twenty-five  boys  and  one  for  fifteen  girls ;  and  there  should 
be  one  urinal  stall  for  twenty  boys.  One  school,  the  Sumner, 


258         School  Organization  and  Administration 

has  less  than  half  the  standard  number  of  seats  for  boys, 
while  several  others  have  much  less  than  half  the  required 
number. 

TABLE  XLIII 

SEATING,  LIGHTING,  AND  TOILET  FACILITIES   IN  THE   DIFFERENT  SCHOOL 

BUILDINGS 


Name  of  School 

Boys  per  Seat 
(Standard  25) 

Per  Cent,  of  Sufficiency 

Boys  per  Urinal 
(Standard  20) 

Per  Cent,  of  Sufficiency 

Girls  per  Seat 
(Standard  is) 

Per  Cent,  of  Sufficiency 

Light  Ratio,  Boys'  Toilet 
(Standard  H) 

Per  Cent,  of  Sufficiency 

Light  Ratio,  Girls'  Toilet 
(Standard  H) 

Per  Cent,  of  Sufficiency 

Bonneville    

18    138 

S3        37 

18    138 

4/5        400 

i/*         166 

30      83 

23      60 

1/7          71 

1/7           71 

Forest       

*S        71 

35       42 

1/18        27 

38      65 

25       66 

Fremont       
Grant    

IQ     131 
39       64 

19    105 
39       51 

13     US 
25       66 

12/197      30 
1/4         125 

12/197    30 

1/4         125 

Hamilton      

1/7           71 

Hawthorne      .... 

22       113 

27       74 

16      93 

67/652       so 

67/839       39 

Jackson    

25     100 

17       88 

Lafayette     

28      80 

25       66 

1/3         1  66 

32       78 

28      53 

Longfellow       .... 
Lowell      

II    230 

26       96 

*l     "I 

2O              2O 

9     166 
25       66 

3/25         60 
13/100      65 

2/25     40 
17/100    85 

32      78 

80       18 

4/2<;        80 

A/25             80 

Onequa  (Annex).    .   . 

9     277 
3°      83 

18     in 
?6       «e 

9     166 

Poplar  Grove       .    .    . 

26      96 
23     108 

42       48 
38      52 

17       88 
16      93 

17/1000      8.5 
1/7          71 

17/1000          8.5 

1/7          71 

1/4        125 

1/4         125 

Sumner     

54      46 

63      31 

32      46 

1/4         125 

1/5         ico 

17     147 

22       99 

14     107 

n/ioo      55 

Twelfth    

24     104 

24      83 

6     250 

1/6          83 

I/O               55 

Wasatch       

22     113 

30      67 

19      79 

1/5       looo 

1/6          83 

Washington     .... 
Webster    

31       80 
36      69 

52      38 
45       44 

26      57 

22        68 

1/8          61 
1/5        ico 

1/7          7i 
1/5         100 

Whittier       
East  High    

27      92 
24      62 

29       69 
21       95 

27       55 
17       88 

i/5        100 

100 

1/5         100 

West  High       .... 

14     104 

17     117 

17       88 

1/8,1/12    61 

i/S         100 

*  Data  not  secured  from  school. 


Table  XLIII  shows  the  number  of  boys  per  seat,  the 
number  of  boys  per  urinal,  the  number  of  girls  per  seat, 


The  School  Plant  259 

and  the  ratio  of  window  area  to  floor  space  in  both  the 
boys'  and  the  girls'  toilets,  for  each  school  in  the  city.  The 
second  figure  in  each  double  column  shows  the  percentage 
of  sufficiency  of  the  item  in  question. 

WHAT   THIS    TABLE   REVEALS 

Some  of  the  most  striking  facts  shown  in  Table  XLIII 
are  as  follows: 

1.  Less  than  25  per  cent,  sufficiency  of  urinals  at  Emer- 
son and  Irving; 

2.  Less  than  45  per  cent,  sufficiency  of  urinals  at  Bonne- 
ville,    Franklin,    Hamilton,    Jefferson,    Sumner,    Lincoln, 
Washington,  and  Webster; 

3.  Less  than  50  per  cent,  sufficiency  of  seats  for  boys  at 
Sumner ; 

4.  Less  than  20  per  cent,  sufficiency  of  seats  for  girls  at 
Monroe ; 

5.  Less  than  50  per  cent,  sufficiency  of  seats  for  girls  at 
Sumner  and  Forest ; 

6.  Equal  proportion  of  seats  for  the  two  sexes  in  six 
schools ; 

7.  Astonishing  variation  from  school  to  school  in  the 
apportionment  of  seats  and  urinals,  ranging,  for  example, 
from  one  seat  for  nine  girls  at  Longfellow  to  one  for  eighty 
girls  at  Monroe;  from  one  seat  for  eleven  boys  at  Long- 
fellow to  one  for  54  boys  at  Sumner ;   from  one  urinal  for 
seventeen  boys  at  Longfellow  to  one  for  ninety  at  Emerson 
and  one  for  ninety-five  at  Irving. 

8.  Similar  lack  of  standards  as  regards  the  lighting  of 
toilets,  the  ratio  of  window  to  floor  space  ranging  from 
£  down  to  ^j. 

Surely  the  above  facts  show  chaos  compounded.  The 
laws  of  chance  would  have  given  about  as  correct  propor- 
tions. The  need  for  some  educational  oversight  of  the 
building  department  is  certainly  evident. 

At  least  ten  toilets  have  less  than  half  the  standard 


260         School  Organization  and  Administration 

amount  of  window  area,  and  the  lighting  of  toilets  is  often 
less  satisfactory  than  the  ratios  given  in  the  table  would 
suggest.  In  many  cases  the  windows  are  partly  below 
ground,  often  the  panes  are  not  fully  transparent,  or  the 
light  is  obstructed  in  some  other  way.  Generally  the  seats 
are  arranged  in  double  rows,  in  which  case  the  row  facing 
away  from  the  windows  is  almost  sure  to  be  poorly  lighted. 
Only  one  row  of  seats  should  be  permitted.  Toilet  rooms 
should  always  be  made  large  enough  to  permit  the  observ- 
ance of  this  rule. 

The  method  of  dispensing  toilet  paper  is  very  unsatis- 
factory. Ordinarily  there  is  only  one  dispenser  for  a 
toilet  room,  none  being  placed  in  the  individual  stalls.  The 
dispenser  used  is  the  familiar  lock-box  variety,  which 
works  so  slowly  that  in  the  rush  periods  at  recess  pupils 
cannot  possibly  be  properly  supplied. 

In  one  school  boys  were  seen  to  go  to  the  stalls  without 
paper  rather  than  stand  in  line  to  wait  their  turn.  In  an- 
other toilet  the  dispenser  was  empty  and  no  paper  was  to 
be  found.  The  object  of  the  single-dispenser  plan  was  said 
to  be  economy!  Surely  one  of  the  wealthiest  cities  of  its 
class  in  the  United  States  ought  not  to  find  itself  driven  to 
such  disgusting  economy.  Economy  is  a  good  thing  in  its 
place,  but  children  ought  to  be  encouraged  or  even  explicitly 
instructed  to  avoid  economy  of  this  kind.  What  possible 
connections  can  be  established  between  such  a  type  of  build- 
ing supervision  and  the  hygiene  instruction  in  the  schools? 

DRINKING    FOUNTAINS 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  find  inviting,  bubbling  fountains  at  all 
the  schools.  In  sixteen  (half)  of  the  schools,  however, 
there  are  no  fountains  inside  the  building.  It  is  recom- 
mended that  half  the  fountains,  at  least,  should  be  placed 
inside.  More  attention  should  also  be  given  to  the  ratio 
of  fountains  to  school  children.  Table  XLIV  shows  this 
to  be  very  uneven.  Some  of  the  schools  have  more  foun- 


The  School  Plant  261 

tains  than  necessary,  others  too  few.    Probably  one  fountain 
for  about  75  to  100  children  is  the  correct  proportion. 

TABLE  XLIV 
DRINKING  FOUNTAINS  PROVIDED 

Less  than  25  children  per  fountain,  2  schools; 
Between  25  and  50  children  per  fountain,  3  schools; 
Between  50  and  75  children  per  fountain,  n  schools; 
Between  75  and  100  children  per  fountain,  9  schools; 
Between  100  and  125  children  per  fountain,  3  schools; 
Between  125  and  150  children  per  fountain,  o  schools; 
Over  150  children  per  fountain,  2  schools. 

ROLLER    TOWELS 

In  schools  where  the  common  drinking  cup  has  long  been 
banished  it  is  surprising  to  find  the  common  roller  towel 
everywhere  in  evidence.  No  school  is  without  it.  Many 
of  those  seen  were  unspeakably  dirty,  as  of  course  roller 
towels  are  expected  to  be.  One  of  the  principals  testified 
that  he  had  recently  acquired  pink-eye  from  drying  his 
hands  on  one  and  then  rubbing  his  eye  with  the  finger.  It 
has  been  demonstrated  often  enough  that  the  roller  towel 
is  a  frequent  means  of  spreading  contagious  disease.  It 
should  of  course  be  banished  forthwith  in  favor  of  sanitary 
paper  towels. 

JANITOR    SERVICE 

The  janitor  service,  though  perhaps  on  the  whole  not 
inferior  to  that  of  the  average  city,  is  in  a  number  of 
schools  not  satisfactory.  A  majority  of  the  principals 
questioned  testified,  however,  that  the  janitors  are  con- 
scientious in  their  efforts  to  do  the  work  as  it  should  be 
done.  The  fault,  where  any  exists,  appears  to  be  chiefly 
in  the  lack  of  persistent  and  intelligent  supervision,  espe- 
cially the  latter. 

Feather  dusters  are  used  exclusively  in  three  of  the  build- 


262         School  Organization  and  Administration 

ings  (Emerson,  Longfellow,  and  Wasatch),  and  in  part  in 
sixteen  others.  The  feather  duster  is  a  criminal  offender 
and  should  not  be  tolerated. 

Still  worse,  dry  sweeping  is  regularly  practiced  in  both 
classrooms  and  halls  of  seven  buildings;  namely,  Ensign, 
Forest,  Onequa,  Oquirrh,  Poplar  Grove,  Sumner,  and  West 
High.  In  certain  other  buildings  sweeping  compound  is 
used  in  the  halls,  but  not  in  the  classrooms.  It  would  appear 
that  many  of  the  janitors  use  the  sweeping  compound  only 
intermittently,  as  four  out  of  eleven  were  found  sweeping 
without  it.  When  questioned,  each  gave  the  same  reply; 
namely,  that  the  supply  had  just  been  exhausted!  In  all 
these  cases  choking  clouds  of  dust  were  being  raised.  An- 
other prevailing  practice  to  be  strongly  condemned  is  that 
of  sweeping  the  halls  while  the  school  is  in  session.  All 
the  classrooms  are  swept  daily  except  in  the  West  High 
School. 

There  are  no  vacuum  cleaners  in  the  schools.  This 
method  of  removing  dirt  and  dust  is  wonderfully  satisfac- 
tory in  school  buildings  when  the  cleaning  plant  is  properly 
installed.  Careful  attention,  however,  must  be  paid  to  size 
and  location  of  ducts,  power  of  fans,  etc.  It  is  strongly 
urged  that  vacuum  cleaners  be  given  a  thorough  trial  in 
buildings  erected  in  the  future. 

The  floors  of  most,  but  not  all,  of  the  buildings  have  been 
oiled,  though  in  some  cases  not  for  many  months  or  even 
years.  The  use  of  floor  oils  should  be  required  in  all  build- 
ings, regardless  of  protests  on  the  part  of  a  few  teachers. 
The  oil  should  be  applied  lightly  at  least  twice  a  year.  The 
floor  should  first  be  thoroughly  cleaned,  and  the  oil  which 
does  not  penetrate  the  wood  should  be  carefully  mopped  up. 
If  these  precautions  are  taken  the  oiled  floor  will  not  look 
unsightly  and  it  will  not  soil  the  clothing.  Oiling  the  floors 
is  imperative  in  the  interests  of  health.  Over  and  over 
again  it  has  been  experimentally  demonstrated  that  it  de- 
creases the  number  of  floating  dust  particles  and  of  bacteria 
to  one-fifth  or  one-tenth  that  found  in  untreated  rooms. 


The  School  Plant 


263 


This  is  illustrated  in  the  following  tests  made  by  Dr.  Lam- 
bert in  an  English  school : 


TABLE  XLV 

EFFECT  OF  TREATING  FLOORS  WITH  OIL 


Plates  Exposed 

Colonies  of  Bacteria 

Floors 
Treated 
by  Oil 

Floors 
not 
Treated 

5  minutes  in  still  air     

0 
2 
38 
II 

6 

i 

7 

12 
456 

79 
62 

3i 

30  minutes  in  still  air  

5  minutes  during  sweeping      

5  minutes  just  after  sweeping     

5  minutes  beginning  10  minutes  after  sweeping  . 
5  minutes  beginning  15  minutes  after  sweeping   . 

NEED   FOR   GREATER   CLEANLINESS 

Unquestionably  much  of  the  nasal  catarrh  and  throat 
trouble  found  among  the  children  (see  Figure  43)  is  ac- 
counted for  by  the  antiquated  methods  of  school  housekeep- 
ing in  vogue  in  this  city.  Every  effort  should  be  made  to 
keep  the  school  building  as  neat  as  a  well-kept  home  and  as 
clean  as  a  hospital.  This  should  be  the  aim,  even  though  it 
is  not  always  possible  to  attain  it  fully. 

More  could  be  done  in  this  direction  if  the  school  grounds 
were  always  well  drained,  properly  graded,  and  in  part  grav- 
eled. More  attention  should  be  paid  to  having  children 
clean  their  shoes  before  entering  the  building,  .and  for  this 
purpose  doormats  and  scrapers  should  be  more  liberally 
provided.  On  rainy  days  the  members  of  the  survey  staff 
saw  many  school  buildings  in  which  the  floors  of  classrooms 
were  covered  with  mud. 

It  was  not  possible  to  gather  extensive  data  regarding 


264         School  Organization  and  Administration 

the  competency  of  janitors  in  the  management  of  the  heat- 
ing and  ventilating  apparatus.  The  temperature  records 
previously  given  show  that  some  fault  exists  here,  but  ex- 
actly how  much  of  this  is  to  be  charged  against  the  janitors, 
and  how  much  to  the  imperfection  of  heating  plants,  we  do 
not  know.  The  matter  is  recommended  for  further  inves- 
tigation by  the  school  authorities.  The  same  may  be  said 
in  regard  to  the  imperfections  of  ventilation. 

Next  to  the  principal,  the  janitor  is  the  most  important 
officer  in  the  school  building.  The  duties  are  so  varied  that 
it  is  not  easy  to  find  persons  who  have  all  the  needed  quali- 
fications. Janitors  should  combine  the  neat  housewife's 
ideals  of  cleanliness  with  a  fair  knowledge  of  mechanics. 
The  right  moral  and  temperamental  qualifications  are  no  less 
important.  It  is  evident  that  it  is  impossible  to  give  too 
much  care  to  the  choice  of  janitors.  After  the  selection  has 
been  made,  efficiency  should  be  the  only  ground  for 
retention. 

Efficiency  of  janitors  can  be  greatly  increased  by  super- 
vision and  training.  Professional  study,  including  lectures 
and  required  reading,  should  be  arranged  at  least  every  sec- 
ond year  for  the  entire  janitorial  force. 

FIRE    PROTECTION 

Only  the  newest  buildings  are  fireproof.  The  stairs  are 
usually  wooden,  the  furnace  rooms  are  not  always  fire- 
proof, and  the  fire  escapes  are  in  a  few  cases  either  lacking 
or  inadequate.  One  of  the  outside  doors  was  found  locked 
during  school  hours  at  two  buildings.  Only  a  few  of 
the  schools  have  panic  bolts  for  the  outside  doors.  The  fire 
drills,  five  of  which  were  witnessed,  were  reasonably  good, 
but  not  always  as  orderly  as  could  be  desired.  The  time  for 
clearing  the  building  ranged  from  a  minute  and  twenty  sec- 
onds to  two  minutes  and  five  seconds. 

Serious  fire  tragedies  have  occurred  in  school  buildings 
no  worse  than  the  majority  of  those  in  Salt  Lake  City,  and 


The  School  Plant  265 

it  is  recommended  that  precautions  be  taken  on  all  the 
points  enumerated  above.  Panic  bolts  should  be  provided 
immediately  for  all  outside  doors,  and  fire  drills  should  be 
subjected  to  more  uniform  control.  Future  buildings  should 
be  made  more  nearly  fireproof. 

QUALITY   OF   CONSTRUCTION   AND   COSTS 

The  limited  time  for  the  survey  did  not  permit  a  careful 
study  of  these  questions.  Costs  vary  so  much  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  that  only  a  searching  investigation 
would  have  made  possible  any  criticism  on  this  point.  The 
quality  of  construction  appears  to  have  been,  on  the  whole, 
very  substantial,  —  unfortunately  so,  considering  the  primi- 
tive type  of  architecture  in  all  but  the  most  recent  buildings. 
All  but  those  erected  in  the  last  four  or  five  years  are  so 
faulty  in  plan  that  it  is  a  pity  they  are  not  now  rickety 
enough  to  demand  replacement.  It  is  depressing  to  think 
that  some  of  these  will  last  a  quarter  of  a  century  yet,  and 
that  many  thousands  of  children  will  have  to  suffer  from 
their  defects.  The  planning  of  school  buildings  should  be 
looked  upon,  indeed,  as  a  solemn  undertaking.  It  is  a  task 
which  calls  not  only  for  the  highest  class  of  professional 
skill,  but  also  for  a  readiness  to  regard  every  other  interest 
as  secondary  to  the  welfare  of  children. 

REPAIRS 

The  annual  budget  for  the  maintenance  and  repairs  of 
the  school  buildings,  which  for  the  past  six  years  has  aver- 
aged about  $55,000  a  year,  seems  rather  large,  when  we 
consider  the  present  condition  of  the  buildings.  The  ques- 
tion raised  is  whether  the  money  expended  for  this  purpose 
has  always  been  devoted  to  the  kind  of  repairs  most  urgent. 
Many  new  floors  have  recently  been  laid,  at  considerable 
expense,  in  buildings  where  alterations  of  rooms  and  im- 
proved toilet  facilities  were  much  more  needed.  These  old 


266         School  Organization  and  Administration 

floors  would  have  had  to  be  very  bad  indeed  to  justify  their 
renewal  at  the  expense  of  other  needed  improvements. 

Good  floors  are  important,  but  it  may  be  well  to  empha- 
size the  fact  that  in  disposing  of  a  repair  budget  there  seems 
to  be  a  natural  tendency  to  give  preference  to  the  kind  of 
repair  work  which  is  simplest,  which  requires  the  least  plan- 
ning and  the  least  supervision,  and  which  carries  with  it 
the  least  educational  significance.  Floor  renewal  falls  in 
this  class.  Fundamental  alterations,  the  reconstruction  of 
toilets,  changes  in  lighting,  etc.,  all  require  better  school- 
engineering  knowledge,  more  forethought  in  the  planning, 
and  more  expert  supervision. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  it  requires  more  thought  to  distribute 
to  the  best  advantage  $50,000  for  repairs  than  to  plan  a  new 
school  building  costing  $100,000.  It  is  evident,  however, 
that  the  matter  has  not  been  viewed  in  this  light  in  Salt 
Lake  City  in  the  past. 

SUMMARY   AND   RECOMMENDATIONS 

1.  About  half  of  the  school  sites  are  of  inadequate  size. 
Approximately   10,500  children  attend  schools  where  the 
available  playground  space  amounts  to  less  than  100  square 
feet  per  child.    Several  of  these  sites  could  yet  be  enlarged, 
and  it  is  recommended  that  steps  be  taken  to  this  end. 
Future  needs  in  this  line  should  be  anticipated. 

2.  The  architectural  plans  in  all  but  the  most  recent 
buildings,  and  to  a  certain  extent  these  also,  have  involved 
very  great  waste  of  building  space,  amounting  in  many  of 
the  buildings  to  40  per  cent,  in  terms  of  cubical  contents. 

3.  There  are  no  baths,  no  cloakrooms,  no  nurses'  rooms, 
and  few  assembly  rooms  in  the  city.     The  quarters  for 
domestic  science  and  manual  training  are  in  many  cases 
unsatisfactory.     It  is  suggested  that  most  of  these  con- 
veniences could  be  provided  in  future  buildings  by  proper 
economy  of  space. 

4.  It  is  recommended  that  most  of  the  74  basement 


The  School  Plant  267 

rooms  be  abandoned  at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  and 
that  basement  rooms  be  avoided  in  future  buildings.  The 
same  recommendation  holds  for  the  46  hall  classrooms. 

5.  There  are  relatively  few  classrooms  in  the  city  which 
conform  to  all  the  standards  of  lighting.    In  more  than  half 
the  lighting  is  very  objectionable.    It  is  recommended  that 
the  walls  and  ceilings  be  retinted;  that  light-obstructions 
be  removed  where  possible;   that  translucent,  double-roller 
window  shades  be  substituted  for  those  now  in  use;   and 
that  in  future  buildings  the  following  standards  be  observed : 

(a)  Avoidance  of  north  or  south  lighting; 

(b)  All  rooms  to  be  lighted  from  left  only; 

(c)  Ratio  of  window  area  to  floor  area,  20-25  Per  cent-  > 

(d)  Six  to  eight  feet  of  dead  space  in  front  of  first 
window. 

6.  Temperature  records  collected  at  three  different  times 
in  the  school  year  show  that  out  of  1,157  records,  71  per 
cent,  are  unsatisfactory,  and  that  16  per  cent,  are  as  much 
as  5  degrees  too  high  or  too  low.    Other  facts  indicate  that 
the  ventilating  systems  in  use  are  also  often  at  fault.    It  is 
recommended  that  the  heating  and  ventilating  apparatus  be 
thoroughly  gone  over  with  a  view  to  the  correction  of  as 
many  defects  as  possible. 

7.  Adjustable  desks  are  present  in  sufficient  number  in 
only  10  per  cent,  of  the  classrooms.     In  the  future  only 
adjustable  desks  should  be  purchased.    Practically  all  desks 
are  incorrectly  set.     The  arrangement  should  be  changed 
from  "zero  distance"  to  "minus  distance"  throughout 
the  city. 

8.  The  blackboards  are  generally  in  good  repair,  but  a 
large  number  are  placed  too  high  from  the  floor. 

9.  The  janitor  work  should  be  improved  and  more  care- 
fully supervised.     Dry-sweeping  and  dry-dusting  should  be 
prohibited.     The  school  principals  should  be  given  larger 
control  over  the  selection  and  work  of  the  janitors. 

10.  Several  of  the  toilets  need  improvements,  and  a  few 


268         School  Organization  and  Administration 

should  be  entirely  replaced.  The  fixtures  are  often  of  an 
unsatisfactory  type,  seats  and  urinals  are  often  insufficient 
in  number,  and  the  method  of  dispensing  toilet  paper  is  very 
objectionable.  The  lighting  should  be  improved  where 
possible. 

11.  The  roller  towel  and  common  soap  should  go. 

12.  Drinking  fountains  should  be  more  carefully  appor- 
tioned according  to  the  number  of  children,  .and  half  of 
them  should  be  placed  inside  the  buildings. 

13.  Showers  for  both  boys  and  girls  should  find  a  place 
in  all  new  buildings. 

14.  Open-air  classes  should  be  provided  for  tuberculous 
and  pretuberculous  children. 

15.  The  worst  of  the  present  buildings  should  be  aban- 
doned as  early  as  possible. 

1 6.  A  new  building,  somewhat  centrally  located,  should 
be  provided  for  the  subnormal  children,  to  take  the  place  of 
the  present  Twelfth  School. 

17.  Special  forethought  should  be  given  to  the  repair 
budget,  in  order  to  insure  that  it  be  used  to  better  advantage. 

1 8.  The  superintendent  of  buildings  and  the  janitor  force 
should  be  made  responsible  to  the  superintendent  of  schools. 

19.  It  is  especially  urged  that  in  all  matters  pertaining 
to  heating,  lighting,  ventilation,  and  school  planning  gen- 
erally, the  services  of  a  qualified  full-time  expert  be  secured 
and  retained. 


CHAPTER    XI 
HEALTH    SUPERVISION 

STANDARDS    FOR   COMPARISON 

BEFORE  offering  a  criticism  of  the  health  supervision 
in  the  Salt  Lake  City  schools  it  will  be  well  to  set 
forth  the  standards  which  have  been  generally  agreed  upon 
by  the  best  authorities  as  constituting  the  essentials  for  this 
phase  of  school  work.  While  a  few  good  school  systems 
are  at  present  lacking  in  some  of  the  following  items,  the 
effort  is  being  made  in  all  progressive  cities  to  incorporate 
as  many  of  them  as  possible,  and  many  school  systems  have 
the  equivalent  of  them  all.  The  standards  set  forth  are 
meant  to  indicate  the  requirements  in  cities  of  from  75,000 
to  150,000  population. 

OFFICERS   AND   ASSISTANTS 

One  full-time  medical  director;  one  half-time  assistant 
physician  for  each  10,000  children  in  the  grades;  one  full- 
time  female  physician  for  each  800  to  1,200  high-school 
girls;  one  full-time  male  physician  for  each  800  to  1,200 
high-school  boys;  a  nurse  for  every  2,000  pupils  in  the 
grades;  one  half-time  dentist;  and  one  half-time  specialist 
in  diseases  of  the  eye,  ear,  nose,  and  throat,  for  each  10,000 
pupils. 

SCOPE   AND   NATURE   OF   WORK 

The  work  should  include  the  following: 

i.  Frequent  inspection  of  all  the  children  by  school 
nurses  for  the  control  of  transmissible  diseases,  with  proper 
regulations  for  exclusions ; 

269 


270         School  Organization  and  Administration 

2.  A  thorough  medical  examination  of  each  child  at 
least  every  second  school  year,  for  the  purpose  of  detecting 
chronic  defects  as  well  as  acute  disorders ; 

3.  Annual  tests  of  vision  and  hearing,  either  by  nurses 
or  teachers ; 

4.  Persistent  follow-up  work  by  nurses,  in  order  that 
parents  may  be  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  having  their 
children's  defects  attended  to; 

5.  Free  medical  and  dental  treatment  in  a  central  clinic, 
for  the  children  of  poor  or  indigent,  by  a  regularly  employed 
school  physician  and  dentist,  this  to  be  supplemented  by 
cooperation  with  local  dental  and  medical  societies  and  with 
hospitals  and  dispensaries; 

6.  Sanitary  inspection  of  school  buildings  by  nurses  and 
physicians ; 

7.  Medical    examination    of    candidates    for    teaching 
positions ; 

8.  Open-air  schools  for  tuberculous  or  anaemic  children ; 

9.  School  lunches  for  the  ill-nourished,  furnished  gratis 
to  those  who  cannot  afford  to  pay ; 

10.  The  education  of  the  home  in  matters  of  child  hy- 
giene by  means  of  parent-teacher  associations,  distribution 
of  health  leaflets,  etc. ;   and 

11.  Publicity  work  for  enlisting  the  cooperation  of  the 
general  public. 

In  order  to  give  proper  scope  to  the  work,  and  in  order  to 
insure  effective  cooperation  among  its  various  branches,  it 
is  usually  advisable  to  have  it  under  the  control  of  the 
board  of  education  rather  than  the  board  of  health. 

COSTS 

Director,  $3,000;  full-time  assistant  physicians  or  den- 
tists, $1,800  to  $2,200;  half-time  physicians  or  dentists, 
$1,000  to  $1,200;  head  nurse,  $100  per  month;  regular 
nurses,  $75  to  $90  per  month.  Total  cost,  between  75  cents 
and  $1.00  for  each  school  child,  or  $15,000  to  $20,000  for 


Health  Supervision  271 

a  city  the  size  of  Salt  Lake  City.  To  this  should  be  added 
the  outlay  for  equipping  a  central  clinic  and  for  the  nurse's 
room  which  should  be  provided  in  each  new  school  building. 
In  judging  the  school  health  work  of  this  city  it  is  neces- 
sary to  keep  the  above  standards  rather  fully  in  mind.  No 
other  function  which  the  school  has  assumed  in  recent  years 
exceeds  health  supervision  in  importance;  and  yet,  partly 
because  of  its  newness,  it  is  often  carried  on  with  little  vision 
of  the  larger  purposes  it  ought  to  serve.  Even  cities  which 
are  otherwise  commendably  progressive  in  school  matters 
sometimes  rest  content  with  halfway  measures  in  health 
supervision,  not  realizing  their  inadequacy.  This  is  espe- 
cially true  in  localities  which  are  geographically  isolated, 
and  where  there  is  only  limited  opportunity  to  observe  the 
work  of  other  cities  and  to  learn  from  their  experience. 

STAGES   IN   THE  DEVELOPMENT   OF   HEALTH    SERVICE 

The  growth  of  school  health  work  in  the  cities  of  the 
United  States,  and  other  countries  as  well,  is  marked  by 
certain  well-defined  stages.  It  always  begins  in  an  effort  of 
physicians  or  of  the  board  of  health  to  prevent  the  spread 
of  transmissible  diseases  in  the  schools,  to  eradicate  para- 
sites, and  to  improve  the  sanitary  conditions  of  the  build- 
ings. The  work  indicated  represents  the  first  stage  of 
health  supervision,  and  is  usually  called  "  medical  inspec- 
tion." Because  of  the  obvious  duty  of  the  public  to  counter- 
act the  increased  danger  of  contagion,  incident  to  compul- 
sory attendance  of  all  classes  of  children  in  the  same  school, 
this  was  the  logical  and  natural  first  point  of  attack. 

After  this  phase  of  the  work  has  been  gotten  well  in  hand, 
and  when  the  medical  inspectors  have  had  more  opportunity 
to  observe  and  study  the  physical  needs  of  the  children,  they 
are  brought  to  a  keener  realization  of  the  large  number  of 
children  who  have  one  or  more  serious  physical  defects 
other  than  a  contagious  disease.  Among  the  defects,  often 
neglected  or  unnoticed  even  by  intelligent  parents  and  teach- 


272         School  Organization  and  Administration 

ers,  are  adenoids,  enlarged  tonsils,  visual  defects,  partial 
deafness,  defective  teeth,  malnutrition,  physical  deformities, 
heart  trouble,  diseased  glands,  incipient  tuberculosis,  etc. 
While  only  about  2  or  3  per  cent,  of  the  school  children  of 
a  city  need  to  be  excluded  in  any  one  year  because  of  a 
contagious  disease,  about  60  to  75  per  cent,  are  always 
found  to  have  one  or  more  serious  physical  defects  of  the 
chronic  type. 

THE   SECOND   STAGE  IN   DEVELOPMENT 

When  such  conditions  are  understood  and  appreciated  the 
nature  and  purpose  of  medical  inspection  must  be  differently 
conceived.  In  addition  to  the  frequent  and  hasty  inspec- 
tions for  contagion,  thorough  physical  examinations  are 
then  instituted,  including  examinations  of  heart,  lungs, 
nutrition,  teeth,  eyes,  ears,  and  throat.  Assistant  physicians 
and  school  nurses,  in  rather  large  number,  become  necessary 
in  order  to  meet  the  extension  and  increased  thoroughness 
of  the  work.  Since  many  parents  fail  to  realize  the  serious- 
ness of  the  defects  discovered,  and  disregard  the  notices 
sent  out  by  the  medical  director,  it  becomes  necessary  to 
organize  a  vigorous  follow-up  service.  In  this  the  well- 
trained  and  tactful  nurse  has  proved  herself  indispensable. 
Because  some  parents  are  too  poor  to  pay  for  the  medical 
or  dental  treatment  recommended,  free  clinics  must  be  or- 
ganized and  the  cooperation  of  local  medical  and  dental 
associations,  charity  organizations,  hospitals,  and  dispen- 
saries must  be  enlisted.  This  may  be  called  the  second  stage 
in  the  development  of  school  health  work. 

THE   THIRD   STAGE 

This  is  represented  by  a  shift  of  the  emphasis  to  preven- 
tive work.  The  attempt  to  bring  about  the  cure  of  defects 
after  they  have  become  well  established  is  praiseworthy,  but 
the  task  is  -difficult  and  the  results  are  often  partial  and  un- 


Health  Supervision  273 

satisfactory.  It  is  far  more  rational  to  exercise  such  con- 
stant and  close  supervision  over  the  health  and  physical 
development  of  the  school  children  that  defects  will  be  pre- 
vented, or  else  remedied  before  they  have  become  a  menace 
to  healthy  growth.  The  acceptance  of  this  point  of  view 
necessitates : 

1.  Increased  thoroughness  of  the  examinations  in  the 
lower  grades ; 

2.  Extension  of  free  medical  and  dental  treatment; 

3.  The  establishment  of  open-air  schools  for  anaemic  and 
pretuberculous  children ; 

4.  School  feeding; 

5.  School  baths ; 

6.  Special  schools  for  the  cure  of  speech  defects ; 

7.  Medical  supervision  of  physical  training  and  athletics ; 

8.  Modifications  in  the  program  and  discipline  of  the 
school  in  order  to  guard  against  fatigue  and  to  prevent  in- 
jury to  neuropathic  children; 

9.  Special  classes  for  the  mentally  subnormal ; 

10.  Increased  attention  to  standards  of  heating,  light- 
ing, and  ventilation; 

11.  Improvement  of  janitorial  service; 

12.  More  practical  and  effective  hygiene  teaching; 

13.  Enlarged  playground  facilities  and  play  supervision; 

14.  Systematic  enlightenment  of  the  teachers  in  matters 
of  health; 

15.  Organized  publicity  and  extension  work,  designed  to 
improve  the  hygienic  standards  of  the  home. 

School  health  work  of  this  inclusive  and  preventive  na- 
ture goes  far  beyond  what  has  usually  been  called  "  medical 
inspection,"  and  may  be  fitly  termed  health  and  development 
supervision.  Its  aim  is  to  organize  all  the  forces  and  de- 
partments of  the  school,  not  only  for  the  prevention  of 
disease,  but  also  for  the  more  positive  cultivation  of  physi- 
cal efficiency. 


274         School  Organization  and  Administration 


HEALTH   SUPERVISION   BECOMES   AN   EDUCATIONAL   SERVICE 

It  is  at  once  evident  that  health  work  of  this  broad  scope, 
interwoven  as  it  is  with  the  everyday  educational  activities 
of  the  school,  cannot  be  carried  on  as  an  incident  in  the 
public  health  work,  or  as  a  side  issue  from  the  office  of  the 
board  of  health.  It  must  have  a  full-time  and  responsible 
head  who  is  not  only  well  trained  in  preventive  medicine 
generally  and  child  hygiene  in  particular,  but  who  has  also 
the  educational  viewpoint  and  the  ability  and  authority  to 
aid  in  shaping  the  activities  of  the  school  so  as  better  to 
accord  with  the  child's  physical  needs.  Accordingly  it  is 
found  necessary  in  nearly  all  cases,  before  health  super- 
vision can  enter  fully  into  the  third  stage  above  described, 
for  the  board  of  education  to  assume  responsibility  for  the 
work  and  to  finance  and  control  it.  In  the  first  stage  the 
work  can  be  perfectly  handled  by  the  board  of  health,  and, 
though  somewhat  less  satisfactorily,  in  the  second  stage 
also.  Very  much  depends,  however,  on  the  personal  equa- 
tion of  the  man  behind  the  work.  Better  results  will  of 
course  be  secured  by  a  first-class  director  employed  by  the 
board  of  health  than  by  a  second-  or  third-rate  director 
working  under  the  authority  of  the  board  of  education. 


In  the  light  of  the  above  discussion  we  are  now  in  posi- 
tion to  judge  the  school  health  work  in  Salt  Lake  City  with 
reference  to  widely  accepted  and  impersonal  standards. 
The  leading  features  of  the  system  are  as  follows : 

i.  The  work  is  carried  on  under  the  authority  of  the 
city  board  of  health,  and  under  the  general  direction  of  the 
health  commissioner.  It  is  more  immediately  under  the 
direction  of  one  of  the  board  of  health's  assistant  physi- 
cians, who  devotes  to  it  a  large  share  of  his  time. 


Health  Supervision  275 

2.  There  are  six  nurses,  including  a  head  nurse,  all  of 
whom  give  most  of  their  time  to  school  work  as  long  as  the 
schools  are  in  session. 

3.  The  efforts  of  the  above  corps  of  officers  are  at  pres- 
ent devoted  mainly  to  the  prevention  and  control  of  conta- 
gious diseases.     Recently,  also,  a  good  deal  has  been  done 
to  bring  about  the  treatment  of  adenoids,  diseased  tonsils, 
and  the  more  serious  cases  of  eye  defects. 

4.  Each  school  is  visited  from  two  to  four  times  a  week 
by  a  nurse,  who  spends  on  an  average  from  one  to  two 
minutes  in  each  classroom,  walking  down  each  aisle  and 
inspecting  the  faces  .and  arms  of  the  children  for  signs  of 
contagious  disease.     In  some  of  the  schools  the  hair  also 
is  inspected  for  pediculosis. 

More  careful  examinations  are  made  of  children  who 
show  symptoms  of  contagious  disease,  and  exclusions  are 
ordered  in  the  cases  which  seem  to  require  it.  At  the  same 
time,  permits  are  issued  for  the  readmission  of  children 
who  have  been  previously  excluded  and  are  in  condition  to 
return  to  school.  Such  children  are  allowed  to  report  to 
the  nurse  at  the  school  which  they  regularly  attend,  instead 
of  being  compelled  to  journey  down  town  to  the  office  of 
the  health  commissioner  for  this  purpose.  Before  leaving 
the  building  the  nurse  makes  note  of  any  unsanitary  condi- 
tions which  seem  to  demand  attention.  Most  of  her  re- 
maining time  is  taken  up  with  home  visitation,  and  in  mak- 
ing arrangements  for  the  free  medical  treatment  of  the 
children  of  the  poor. 

5.  When  a  child  has  been  excluded  by  the  nurse,  as  de- 
scribed in  the  last  paragraph,  a  visit  is  made  to  the  child's 
home  by  one  of  the  assistant  physicians  for  the  purpose  of 
making  a  diagnosis  of  the  case.     Most  of  these  visits  are 
made  by  one  physician. 

6.  There   is   no   medical   examination,    periodically   or 
otherwise,  of  the  entire  school  population,  and  there  are 
few  individual  instances  of  medical  examination  except  in 
cases  of  suspected  contagious  disease. 


276         School  Organization  and  Administration 

7.  .Neither  a  medical  nor  a  dental  clinic  has  yet  been 
established. 

8.  High-school  pupils  do   not  have   the   advantage  of 
medical  examinations  or  advice,  and  there  is  no  medical 
supervision  of  athletics.     However,  a  commendable  begin- 
ning has  been  made  in  this  line  by  the  supervisor  of  physi- 
cal education,  who  examines  high-school  boys  for  defects 
of  vision,  hearing,  heart,  and  posture. 

9.  There  are  no  bathing  facilities  in  the  grades  below 
the  high  school. 

10.  Little  has  been  done  toward  providing  school  meals 
for  ill-nourished  children. 

11.  In  contrast  with  nearly  all  other  cities  of  its  size  in 
the  United  States,  Salt  Lake  City  has  not  yet  established  an 
open-air  school. 

12.  The  cost  of  the  above  work  cannot  be  ascertained 
exactly,  .because  all  who  are  engaged  in  it  give  a  portion  of 
their  time  to  other  duties.    The  six  nurses  are  paid  $5,080 
per  year,  and  the  assistant  physician  who  has  direct  charge 
of  the  work  is  paid  $1,500  per  year.    The  cost  of  the  school 
work  may  be  estimated  as  between  $5,000  and  $6,000  per 
year,  which  is  a  little  over  25  cents  per  pupil  enrolled,  or 
about  one-third  to  one-fourth  the  cost  of  an  adequate  sys- 
tem of  health  supervision. 

13.  In  addition  to  the  work  carried  on  by  the  board  of 
health,  the  board  of  education  also  employs  an  emergency 
physician  to  answer  calls  from  the  schools.    Although  the 
title  of  this  physician  is  "  medical  inspector  of  schools,"  the 
office  is  at  present  a  rather  nominal  one,  as  the  duties  are 
light  and  the  pay  proportional  to  the  number  of  calls  made. 
Another  function  of  this  branch  of  the  school  medical  serv- 
ice is  to  provide  for  the  medical  examinations  of  candidates 
for  teaching  positions,  and  to  require,  when  it  is  deemed 
advisable,  medical  examinations  of  teachers  in  service.    For 
this  purpose  a  "  board  of  medical  examiners  for  teachers  " 
has  been  selected,  consisting  of  thirteen  physicians,  with  the 
physician  appointed  by  the  board -of  education  as  chairman. 


Health  Supervision  277 

STAGE   IN    DEVELOPMENT    REPRESENTED 

Comparing  now  the  scope  of  service  attempted  with  the 
recognized  standards  already  set  forth,  it  is  immediately 
obvious  that  school  health  work  in  Salt  Lake  City  has  not 
progressed  far  beyond  what  we  have  described  as  the  "  first 
stage  "  of  development.  Transmissible  diseases  are  admi- 
rably controlled,  sanitary  inspection  of  the  buildings  is  car- 
ried on,  a  few  examinations  for  chronic  defects  are  made, 
the  nurses  are  doing  as  much  follow-up  work  as  time  will 
permit;  but  the  60  or  75  per  cent,  of  children  who  have 
chronic  defects  receive  little  attention  as  compared  with 
the  relatively  small  proportion  who  acquire  a  contagious 
disease.  The  larger  and  more  important  fields  of  work 
which  fall  within  the  "  second  stage  "  and  "  third  stage  " 
already  described  have  been  little  developed.  The  impor- 
tance of  this  wider  field  will  be  set  forth  presently. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  add,  however,  that  whatever  work  is 
attempted  is  apparently  well  done.  The  records  show  un- 
mistakably that  contagious  diseases  have  been  significantly 
reduced  in  the  last  two  or  three  years.  Parasites  have  been 
largely  eradicated,  and  all  the  teachers  questioned  bore  wit- 
ness to  the  fact  that  the  work  of  the  nurses  had  brought  ex- 
cellent results  in  the  improvement  of  health  conditions  and 
in  the  promotion  of  cleanliness.  That  the  follow-up  work 
has  been  fruitful  in  spite  of  the  large  number  of  pupils  as- 
signed to  each  nurse  (3,000  to  3,500)  is  indicated  by  the 
fact  that  10  per  cent,  of  the  pupils  enrolled  have  had  ade- 
noids or  tonsils  removed,  and  that  3.4  per  cent,  have  had 
such  an  operation  within  the  last  year. 

RESULTS    FROM    THE   PRESENT   SERVICE 

Important  evidence  as  to  the  efficiency  of  the  nurses  in 
controlling  contagious  diseases  was  secured  in  the  following 
manner.  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  making  the  routine 
inspections  at  a  school  it  was  stated  that  the  nurse  excludes 


278         School  Organization  and  Administration 

pupils  who  show  symptoms  of  contagious  disease,  after 
which  the  assistant  physician  visits  the  child's  home  and 
makes  a  diagnosis.  In  each  such  case  the  office  record 
shows  what  disease  the  nurse  "  suspected,"  and  what  the 
physician  actually  found. 

All  these  individual  records  for  the  school  year  1914-15 
were  turned  over  to  a  member  of  the  survey  staff  and  were 
summarized.  The  results  show  that  60  per  cent,  of  the  sus- 
picions were  fully  confirmed  by  the  diagnosis  of  the  physi- 
cian, that  in  23  per  cent,  of  the  cases  in  which  the  suspicion 
was  not  confirmed  there  existed  a  condition  of  disease  or 
defect  which  called  for  medical  attention,  and  that  in  only 
17  per  cent,  of  the  cases  was  there  no  need  of  a  physician. 
On  an  average,  therefore,  five  out  of  six  cases  reported 
by  the  nurses  are  found  to  need  immediate  medical  care. 
This  is  certainly  a  splendid  record.  The  contagious  diseases 
discovered  in  the  schools  during  the  last  year  include,  among 
others,  the  following: 

Chicken  pox,  41  cases.  Smallpox,  3  cases. 

Impetigo,  1 1  cases.  Scarlet  fever,  2  cases. 

Mumps,  57  cases.  Diphtheria,  2  cases. 

Pink-eye,  43  cases.  Measles,  2  cases. 

Scabies  (itch),  22  cases.  Ringworm,  7  cases. 
Whooping  cough,  38  cases. 

In  all  probability  each  case  discovered  in  the  first  stages 
in  the  schools  meant  the  prevention  of  several  additional 
cases. 

EFFECTIVENESS   OF   THE   SCHOOL   NURSE 

These  findings  regarding  the  ability  of  school  nurses  to 
detect  contagious  diseases  in  the  early  stages  are  fully  in 
accord  with  the  experience  of  other  cities.  No  better  evi- 
dence could  be  desired  that  this  phase  of  the  work  can  be 
adequately  taken  care  of  by  school  nurses.  To  employ  ex- 
pensive physicians  for  the  routine  inspections  would  be  a 
waste  of  money.  Even  the  best,  medical  authorities  admit 


Health  Supervision  279 

that  the  well-trained  school  nurse  acquires  a  degree  of  skill 
in  recognizing  the  early  symptoms  of  contagious  disease 
which  is  not  excelled  by  the  average  practicing  physician. 
One  explanation  is  the  large  amount  of  experience  secured 
by  the  nurse  in  a  relatively  short  period  of  time.  She  is 
likely,  indeed,  to  meet  more  cases  of  whooping  cough  or 
measles  in  the  early  stages  in  a  single  month  than  the  prac- 
ticing physician  would  ordinarily  meet  in  the  course  of  ten 
years. 

Another  function  well  performed  by  the  school  nurses  of 
Salt  Lake  City  is  that  of  vaccinating  children  against  small- 
pox. Utah  has  no  compulsory  vaccination  law  and  a  major- 
ity of  the  school  children  have  not  been  vaccinated,  although 
no  data  were  available  to  show  the  exact  number  of  un- 
vaccinated.  Prompt  action  is  therefore  necessary  when  a 
case  has  been  discovered  in  the  schools.  To  meet  the  situ- 
ation the  nurses  are  allowed  to  perform,  free  of  charge, 
vaccinations  of  school  children  who  have  been  exposed  to 
the  disease.  The  practice  is  somewhat  exceptional  in  the 
cities  of  the  United  States,  largely  because  of  the  conserva- 
tism of  many  physicians  who  oppose  it.  There  is  absolutely 
no  ground,  however,  for  such  opposition.  Vaccinations  are 
just  as  effective  when  performed  gratis  by  the  nurses  as 
when  performed  by  the  physician  at  the  rate  of  $2.00  per 
child.  That  they  are  also  fully  as  safe  is  demonstrated  by 
the  fact  that  in  the  two  years  1913  and  1914,  1,331  vacci- 
nations were  performed  by  the  school  nurses  of  Salt  Lake 
City  without  serious  complications  in  a  single  case.  The 
practice  should  by  all  means  be  continued. 

EXPANSIONS  PLANNED  BY  THE  HEALTH  COMMISSIONER 

The  fact  that  the  health  work  has  thus  far  progressed 
little  beyond  the  first  stage  is  not  offered  as  a  criticism  of 
those  in  charge  of  it.  Because  of  possible  misunderstanding 
and  opposition,  both  on  the  part  of  the  conservative  element 
of  the  medical  profession  and  of  the  public,  it  is  often  not 


280         School  Organization  and  Administration 

the  best  policy  to  try  to  inaugurate  at  one  stroke  an  ideal 
system  of  school  health  supervision.  In  a  gradual  expan- 
sion the  wisdom  of  each  step  proves  itself,  and  smooths  the 
way  for  still  further  progress. 

This  has  marked  the  development  of  the  department  in 
Salt  Lake  City.  First  one  nurse  was  appointed,  then  a  sec- 
ond, and  two  years  ago  the  number  was  increased  to  six. 
An  effort  will  be  made  to  add  two  more  next  year,  and  ulti- 
mately others  until  there  shall  be  one  nurse  for  about  2,000 
children.  Arrangements  have  been  made  for  opening  a 
dental  clinic  at  the  central  office  in  the  immediate  future. 
Temporarily  the  dental  work  will  be  done  without  expense 
to  the  city  by  members  of  the  local  dental  association.  This 
will  finally  result,  without  doubt,  in  the  employment  of  a 
regular  school  dentist.  A  similar  arrangement  is  contem- 
plated which  will  make  possible  the  opening  of  a  medical 
clinic. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  where  the  system  is  new,  as 
is  the  case  here,  it  should  be  judged  less  by  what  it  has 
already  accomplished  than  by  the  limits  which  are  set  for 
future  accomplishments.  Judged  by  this  standard  the  sys- 
tem of  Salt  Lake  City  merits  a  great  deal  of  praise.  The 
authorities  in  charge  are  fully  cognizant  of  the  work  to  be 
done,  and  appear  to  have  the  determination  and  the  tact  to 
bring  about  the  desired  expansions.  The  point  of  view  is 
strictly  in  harmony  with  modern  tendencies  in  child  hygiene. 

HEALTH  CONDITIONS  OF  SALT  LAKE  CITY  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 

In  order  to  indicate  some  of  the  unsolved  or  only  partly 
solved  health  problems  among  the  school  children,  the  two 
questionnaires  reproduced  as  Tables  XL VI  and  XL VI I 
were  sent  to  each  teacher  in  the  city.  It  will  be  noted  that 
the  data  called  for  in  the  first  questionnaire  were  secured 
by  the  teacher  asking  the  questions  of  the  children,  and 
that  the  second  questionnaire  was  filled  out  by  the  teachers 
on  the  basis  of  their  own  observation. 


Health  Supervision  281 

While,  of  course,  absolute  accuracy  cannot  be  claimed  for 
data  gathered  in  this  way,  it  is  probable  that  in  most  cases 
they  represent  the  facts  fairly  closely.  Dr.  E.  B.  Hoag, 
who  has  used  similar  question  lists  with  more  than  100,000 
school  children  in  California  and  Minnesota,  has  always 
found  that  the  results  thus  obtained  do  not  differ  materially 
from  those  secured  by  his  actual  medical  examinations. 
Indeed,  when  the  data  from  these  question  lists  are  compared 
with  the  statistics  resulting  from  the  medical  examinations 
which  have  been  given  to  millions  of  school  children  in  hun- 
dreds of  cities  of  the  United  States,  Germany,  France,  Eng- 
land, Japan,  Australia,  and  other  countries,  the  amount  of 
agreement  is  found  to  be  remarkable. 

Summarizing  the  data  on  health  conditions  among  the 
children,  obtained  from  the  questionnaires  sent  out,  we  get 
the  following  significant  information: 

HEADACHES 

More  than  26  per  cent,  of  the  children  (4,409)  have 
headaches  often.  This  is  about  the  usual  percentage  found. 
Dr.  Hoag's  figures  for  several  other  cities  range  from  20 
to  25  per  cent.  Headache  is  an  indication  that  something 
is  wrong,  and  when  the  trouble  is  chronic  we  are  always 
justified  in  suspecting  eye-strain,  nervousness,  constipation, 
or  some  kind  of  digestive  disturbance.  It  is  often  associ- 
ated with  poor  nutrition  and  general  weakness. 

EARS   AND    HEARING 

Seven  and  five  tenths  per  cent,  of  the  children  (1,243) 
have  earache  often,  5.5  per  cent.  (942)  have  had  at  some 
time  running  of  the  ears,  and  '5.1  per  cent.  (883)  have 
marked  symptoms  of  imperfect  hearing.  Dr.  Hoag's  figures 
from  other  cities  give  10  per  cent,  for  earache,  3  per  cent, 
for  running  of  the  ears,  and  about  4  per  cent,  for  imperfect 
hearing.  Earache  often  means  an  infection  of  the  middle 


282         School  Organization  and  Administration 

TABLE  XLVI 

HEALTH  QUESTIONNAIRE  I 
(One  to  each  teacher) 

Name  of  school Grade 

Room Name  of  teacher 

Total  number  pupils 

(Directions)  Ask  the  children  the  following  questions  and  record  the  results. 
It  is  important  to  ask  the  questions  with  the  proper  degree  of  seriousness,  and 
to  urge  the  pupils  to  answer  as  correctly  as  possible. 

1.  How  many  have  headache  of  ten  (two  or  three  times  a  month)? 

2.  How  many  have  earache  of  ten  (two  or  three  times  a  month)? 

3.  How  many  sometimes  have  running  of  the  ears? 

4.  How  many  have  had  hearing  tested  sometime? 

5.  How  many  have  had  hearing  tested  in  this  school  year? 

6.  How  many  have  sore  throat  or  colds  frequently  (two  or  three  times  a 
month)? 

7.  How  many  have  had  adenoids  or  tonsils  removed? 

8.  How  many  have  had  adenoids  or  tonsils  taken  out  in  the  last  year?    .    .    . 

9.  How  many  of  ten  have  pain  or  watering  of  eyes? 

10.  How  many  cannot  easily  read  the  writing  on  the  blackboard? 

11.  How  many  find  that  the  print  often  seems  to  blur,  or  run  together,  or 
look  double? 

12.  How  many  have  had  the  eyes  tested  sometime? 

13.  How  many  have  had  the  eyes  tested  in  the  last  year? 

14.  How  many  have  gone  to  a  dentist  sometime? 

15.  How  many  have  gone  to  a  dentist  in  the  last  year? 

16.  How  many  have  a  toothbrush? 

15.  How  many  have  used  a  toothbrush  in  the  last  twenty-four  hours?     .    .    . 

1 8.  How  many  have  toothache  of  ten  (two  or  three  times  a  month?)     .    .    .   . 

19.  How  many  eat  breakfast  every  day? 

20.  How  many  eat  lunch  every  day?      


Health  Supervision  283 


TABLE  XLVH 

HEALTH  QUESTIONNAIRE  n 

(One  to  each  teacher) 

Name  of  school     Grade    .   .   .     Room 

Name  of  teacher Number  of  pupils 


(To  be  filled  out  without  asking  children.    Accuracy  important.) 

1.  Number  of  pupils  who  have  frequent  or  chronic  difficulty  in  breathing 
through  the  nose 

2.  Number  who  have  frequent  or  chronic  nasal  discharge 

3.  Number  who  have  nasal  or  thick  voice 

4.  Number  who  show  symptoms  of  imperfect  hearing 

5.  Number  who  stutter  or  stammer 

6.  Number  who  show  symptoms  of  eye  defects  (redness  or  watering  of  the 
eyes,  squinting,  frowning,  cross-eye,  holding  book  too  near,  miscalling  well- 
known  words,  etc.) 

7.  Number  who  wear  glasses  regularly 

8.  Number  who  have  some  marked  peculiarity,  such  as  irritability,  mus- 
cular twitchings,  nervousness,  excessive  timidity,  tendency  to  cry  without  cause, 
tendency  to  worry,  moroseness,  moral  abnormality,  etc 

9.  Number  who  show  marked  lack  of  mental  alertness 

10.  Number  who  are  noticeably  lacking  in  play  activity 

11.  Number  who  are  delicate  or  frequently  ill 

12.  Number  whose  posture  is  habitually  faulty 


ear,  and  the  discharge  which  sometimes  follows  the  ear- 
ache means  that  the  pus  has  broken  through  the  drum.  The 
result  is  likely  to  be  impaired  hearing  for  life.  In  any 
school  system,  anywhere,  tests  of  hearing  will  show  that 
from  3  per  cent,  to  5  per  cent,  of  the  children  have  seriously 
defective  hearing  in  one  or  both  ears,  and  that  at  least 
I  per  cent,  have  not  over  one-fourth  normal  hearing. 
In  Salt  Lake  City  only  13.6  per  cent,  of  the  children  have 


284         School  Organization  and  Administration 

ever  had  the  hearing  tested,  and  only  2.6  per  cent,  within  the 
last  year.  Each  child  ought  to  have  a  hearing  test  every 
year.  Such  can  be  given  by  the  teachers,  under  proper 
supervision,  and  the  time  required  for  such  tests  is  negli- 
gible. Annual  tests  of  hearing  are  required  by  law  in 
several  states. 

Usually  a  fourth  of  one  per  cent,  are  found  to  be  so 
nearly  deaf  as  to  warrant  their  removal  to  special  classes. 
At  this  rate  the  number  in  Salt  Lake  City  who  need  such 
attention  is  not  far  from  50,  or  enough  for  two  or  three 
special  classes. 

EYES   AND   VISION 

Twenty-two  per  cent,  of  the  children  testify  that  the 
print  sometimes  blurs,  23  per  cent,  that  the  eyes  sometimes 
pain,  and  n.i  per  cent,  are  said  by  the  teachers  to  show 
symptoms  of  subnormal  vision.  Thirty-three  per  cent,  have 
sometime  had  the  eyes  tested,  7.7  per  cent,  within  the  last 
year.  These  results  agree  closely  with  the  figures  in  other 
cities.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  in  any  city  at  least  15  per  cent, 
of  the  children  have  imperfect  vision  and  that  at  least  10 
per  cent,  ought  to  wear  glasses.  In  this  city  only  2.7  per 
cent,  of  the  children  enrolled  have  glasses,  which  means 
that  three-fourths  of  the  cases  of  defective  vision  have 
been  neglected  (probably  about  1,460). 

In  order  to  check  up  the  data  secured  from  the  teachers, 
the  McCallie  vision  test  was  given  by  Mr.  Williams,  of  the 
survey  staff,  to  510  children.  As  shown  in  the  following 
chart,  15  per  cent,  of  these  children  had  defective  vision, 
while  only  3.5  per  cent,  of  those  tested  were  wearing  glasses. 

Tests  of  this  kind  should  be  given  to  every  child  each 
school  year.  Like  hearing  tests,  these  are  required  by  law  in 
a  number  of  states.  They  can  be  given  readily  by  the 
teachers  after  a  little  instruction.  Teachers  cannot  deter- 
mine the  cause  of  the  defective  vision,  but  they  can  usually 
determine  whether  a  defect  exists.  The  oculist  will  do  the 
rest. 


Health  Supervision 


285 


DEFECTIVE 
VISION 
15% 


FIG.  42.    SHOWING  THE  RESULTS  OF  THE  EXAMINATION  OF  CHILDREN'S 
EYES  IN  SALT  LAKE  CITY 

(McCallie  Vision  Test) 


NOSE   AND   THROAT   TROUBLES 

The  returns  show  that  19.8  per  cent,  have  sore  throat 
often,  8.6  per  cent,  have  obstructed  breathing,  and  5.7  per 
cent,  have  a  marked  nasal  voice  (indicative  of  obstructed 
breathing).  It  is  certain,  therefore,  that  not  less  than  10 
per  cent,  of  the  children  (2,000)  have  neglected  defects  of 
nose  or  throat.  The  number  would  be  far  greater  but  for 
the  fact  that  another  10  per  cent,  have  had  adenoids  or 


286         School  Organization  and  Administration 

tonsils  removed.  As  with  other  defects,  the  percentage 
having  nose  or  throat  trouble  agrees  closely  with  similar 
data  from  other  cities. 

The  injuries  produced  by  such  defects  are  so  well  recog- 
nized that  extended  discussion  here  is  not  necessary.  It  is 
sufficient  to  point  out  that  obstructed  breathing  nearly  al- 
ways reduces  the  lung  capacity  and  retards  mental  and 
physical  growth.  Many  a  "  backward  "  child  can  be  made 
over  by  the  removal  of  breathing  obstructions.  Neglected 
adenoids  lay  the  foundation  for  a  number  of  constitutional 
weaknesses  which  may  not  become  apparent  until  adult  life. 
The  trouble  often  spreads  to  the  ear.  Most  cases  of  partial 
deafness  can  be  traced  to  neglected  throat  troubles. 

TEETH 

Fortunately  for  our  purposes  the  teeth  of  4,463  of 
the  school  children  of  the  city  had  recently  been  examined 
by  dentists  from  the  local  dental  association.  These  in- 
cluded all  in  attendance  at  the  Riverside,  Jackson,  Whittier, 
Lowell,  Lafayette,  Poplar  Grove,  and  Wasatch  schools. 
The  results  were  summarized  by  us  for  the  schools  sepa- 
rately, and  are  shown  in  Table  XLVIII.  Some  of  the 
most  striking  facts  shown  in  this  table  are  the  following : 

That  with  19  per  cent,  the  general  condition  of  the  mouth 
is  distinctly  "  bad,"  and  with  34. 1  per  cent,  only  "  fair." 

That  the  condition  of  the  gums  is  "  bad  "  with  9.7  per 
cent.,  and  only  "  fair  "  with  17.4  per  cent. 

That  32.1  per  cent,  have  malocclusion. 

That  the  teeth  of  24.8  per  cent,  are  badly  in  need  of 
cleaning. 

That  the  4,363  children  have  a  total  of  16,612  carious 
(decaying)  teeth,  or  an  average  number  of  3.7  carious 
teeth  per  child. 

That  1,986  teeth  were  found  needing  extraction. 

That  43.5  per  cent,  of  the  children  do  not  use  a  tooth- 
brush. 


Health  Supervision 


287 


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288         School  Organization  and  Administration 

The  results  of  the  health  questionnaire  submitted  to  the 
teachers  by  the  survey  commission  brought  out  the  following 
additional  facts: 

That  25.1  per  cent,  of  the  children  often  have  toothache. 

That  36.8  per  cent,  have  never  been  to  a  dentist. 

That  64  per  cent  have  not  been  to  a  dentist  within  the 

last  year. 

That  nearly  19  per  cent,  do  not  own  a  toothbrush. 
That  50  per  cent,  do  not  use  a  toothbrush  regularly. 

The  above  facts  are  in  harmony  with  countless  other  in- 
vestigations. It  is  always  found  that  75  to  90  per  cent,  of 
the  school  children  have  at  least  one  decaying  tooth,  and 
that  half  the  children  have  ordinarily  from  three  to  five. 
Comparison  of  the  different  schools  will  show  that  while 
some  schools  are  better  than  others,  the  conditious  on  the 
whole  are  very  general. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  a  campaign  is  in  order  for 
the  improvement  of  the  children's  teeth.  Nowhere  else  will 
the  proverbial  "  ounce  of  prevention  "  go  farther.  Dental 
caries,  of  all  the  common  defects,  is  the  most  widespread. 
It  is  often  called  "  the  people's  disease."  Moreover,  it  is 
largely  a  disease  of  childhood  and  youth.  If  teeth  are  kept 
in  repair  till  adult  life  they  do  not  readily  decay.  If  neg- 
lected till  the  age  of  20,  they  are  often  beyond  salvage.  A 
dollar  spent  at  the  right  time  will  save  many  dollars  of 
dental  bills  later.  The  best  time  to  treat  toothache  is  before 
it  occurs.  When  a  tooth  has  come  to  the  aching  point  the 
best  time  for  saving  it  has  gone  by. 

Since  parents  often  do  not  appreciate  the  truth  of  these 
facts,  and  do  not  realize  the  great  value  of  sound  teeth  for 
health,  it  is  necessary  for  the  school  to  make  frequent  dental 
examinations  of  all  the  children,  and  to  urge  parents  to 
have  defective  teeth  treated.  Where  parents  cannot  afford 
to  pay  dental  bills  the  work  should  be  done  gratis  by  school 
dentists.  The  school  dentist  is  indeed  as  indispensable  as 
the  school  doctor.  If  not  all  the  dental  work  can  be  done  at 


Health  Supervision  289 

once,  it  is  well  to  concentrate  on  the  younger  children  first, 
as  this  is  the  place  where  a  given  amount  of  preventive  work 
goes  the  farthest. 

GENERAL   WEAKNESS 

The  study  shows  that  5.3  per  cent,  of  the  children  are 
classified  by  the  teachers  as  "  frequently  ill,"  3.4  per  cent, 
as  "  lacking  in  physical  energy,"  and  8.5  per  cent,  as  "  not 
mentally  alert."  We  are  justified  in  concluding  that  prob- 
ably 10  per  cent,  in  all,  or  over  2,000  children,  are  physi- 
cally much  below  par.  These  conditions  are  not  peculiar 
to  Salt  Lake  City,  but  have  been  found  everywhere,  includ- 
ing such  cities  as  Pasadena,  Berkeley,  Oakland,  Los  An- 
geles, and  hundreds  of  eastern  cities.  Children  of  this 
class,  more  than  any  other,  need  constant  health  supervision. 
They  are  the  ones  most  injured  by  poor  ventilation,  bad 
lighting,  lack  of  opportunity  for  play,  etc.  To  look  after 
their  welfare  is  far  more  important  than  the  control  of  con- 
tagious diseases,  important  as  that  may  be. 

MENTALLY   OR    MORALLY   EXCEPTIONAL   CHILDREN 

Ten  per  cent,  of  the  children  are  placed  by  the  teachers  in 
this  group,  which  includes  children  who  are  exceptionally 
nervous,  irritable,  morose,  lacking  in  self-control,  prone 
to  morbid  worry,  or  morally  abnormal.  It  is  an  important 
function  of  the  department  of  health  supervision  to  give 
the  teachers  instruction  and  advice  in  the  handling  of  such 
children.  The  child  who  is  misunderstood  at  home  and  in 
the  school  is  in  danger  of  developing  mental  or  moral 
traits  which  will  make  his  life  miserable  or  futile. 

SPEECH    DEFECTS 

One  and  eight-tenths  per  cent,  of  the  children  are  classi- 
fied as  stutterers,  which  is  almost  exactly  the  number  found 
in  several  extensive  investigations  elsewhere. 


2QO         School  Organization  and  Administration 

The  stuttering  child  is  greatly  handicapped  in  life  if  he 
does  not  recover.  Spontaneous  recovery  often  does  not 
occur,  and  as  a  result  the  child's  vocational  opportunities 
are  greatly  limited.  At  present  little  is  being  done  in  this 
country  for  stuttering  children.  Their  treatment  offers  a 
free  field  for  quacks  and  charlatans,  whose  prey  they  often 
become., 

The  experience  of  other  countries,  however,  demonstrates 
that  80  per  cent,  to  85  per  cent,  of  cases  of  stuttering  among 
school  children  can  be  cured.  Several  countries  of  Europe 
conduct  special  classes  for  their  benefit.  Records  show  that 
cure  is  usually  effected  within  three  to  six  months.  It  is 
hoped  that  American  cities  will  soon  see  the  wisdom  of 
this  example. 

MALNUTRITION 

Figures  were  not  obtainable  directly  on  this  point,  for 
the  reason  that  teachers  are  not  able  to  ascertain  the  facts. 
In  some  of  the  schools,  however,  the  experienced  eye  can 
detect  large  numbers  of  children  who  are  evidently  ill- 
nourished.  It  is  hardly  likely  that  this  is  due  in  many 
cases  to  actual  insufficiency  of  food.  There  are  many 
other  causes  of  malnutrition,  such  as  unwise  choice  of 
foods,  improper  cooking,  weakness  of  the  powers  of  diges- 
tion and  assimilation,  etc.  Parental  negligence  is  often  to 
blame.  The  results  of  the  health  questionnaire  show  that 
11.4  per  cent,  of  the  children  do  not  breakfast  regularly, 
and  that  9.1  per  cent,  sometimes  miss  lunch.  The  health  de- 
partment has  no  duty  more  important  than  that  of  identify- 
ing the  ill-nourished  children,  and  the  school  department  no 
more  urgent  duty  than  that  of  ameliorating  their  condition. 

School  lunches  are  one  means  of  helping  ill-nourished 
children.  Lunches  ought  to  be  served  in  several  schools, 
such  as  Fremont,  Bonneville,  Franklin,  Lincoln,  Jackson, 
and  Riverside.  Where  the  children  cannot  afford  to  pay 
the  cost  of  a  meal,  the  expense  should  be  borne  by  the  board 


Health  Supervision 


291 


of  education.  Much  good  can  also  be  accomplished  by 
means  of  health  leaflets  issued  to  parents,  setting  forth  in 
simple  language  the  most  important  rules  for  the  care  and 
feeding  of  children.  The  school  can  cooperate  further  by 
giving  greater  emphasis  to  domestic  science,  play,  personal 
hygiene,  etc. 


HAVE  HEADACHE  OFTE 
HAVE  EARACHE  OFTEN 
DEFECTIVE  HEARING 
DETECTIVE  VISION 
SORE  THROAT  OFTEN 
OBSTRUCTED  BREATHINi 
BAD  CONDITION  Or  MOUTH 
HAVE  NEVER  BKNTOHENTIST 
DO  NOT  HAVE  A  TOOTH  BRUSH 


FREQUENTLY   ILL 
NOT  MENTALLY  ALERT 
MENTALLY  PECULIAR 
MNOTSREAKFASTRKIMRLY 
SOMETIMES  NI5S  LUNCH 
STUTTER  OR  5TAIWAER 


20 


FIG.  43.    SHOWING  SOME  HEALTH  CONDITIONS  AMONG  THE  SCHOOL 
CHILDREN  OF  SALT  LAKE  CITY 


HEALTH    WORK   SHOULD   BE   EXTENDED 

The  foregoing  discussion  gives  an  idea  of  the  broad  re- 
sponsibilities of  a  school  health  department.  The  control 
of  contagious  disease  is  but  one  of  its  many  functions,  and 
by  no  means  the  most  important.  There  are  at  least  a  half 


292         School  Organization  and  Administration 

dozen  other  lines  of  work  fully  as  important.  The  old  con- 
ception, which  would  limit  the  function  of  the  school  to 
the  cultivation  of  the  child's  mind,  is  now  obsolete.  Chil- 
dren should  not  be  taught  as  though  they  were  disembodied 
spirits.  In  thousands  of  cases  defective  bodies  largely  nullify 
educational  efforts.  The  degree  of  social  responsibility  for 
children's  health  is  no  less  than  for  their  intellectual  devel- 
opment, and  it  is  becoming  increasingly  clear  that  the  best 
place  to  lodge  this  responsibility  for  children  of  school 
age  is  with  a  well-organized  department  of  school  health 
supervision. 


CONCLUSIONS   AND   RECOMMENDATIONS 

As  a  result  of  this  study  the  following  conclusions  and 
recommendations  seem  warranted: 

1.  The  school  health  work  is  excellent  as  far  as  it  goes. 
The  handling  of  contagious  disease  is  according  to  the  most 
approved  methods,  and  other  valuable  work  is  being  done. 
However,  the  scope  of  the  department  should  be  enlarged  so 
as  to  make  possible  greater  attention  to  conditions  of  defect 
other  than  contagious  disease. 

2.  The  needed  expansions  would  include : 

(a)  Thorough  medical  examination  of  each  child  at  least 
every  second  year. 

(b)  Annual  tests  of  vision  and  hearing  by  the  teachers. 

(c)  Improvement  of  conditions  of  the  teeth  and  mouth. 

(d)  Extension  of  the  follow-up  service. 

(e)  The  hygienic  supervision  of  athletics  and  physical 
education. 

(  f  )  Systematic  instruction  of  the  teachers  in  matters  per- 
taining to  child  hygiene. 

(g)  The  establishment  by  the  board  of  education  of 
school  lunches,  school  baths,  increased  play  facili- 
ties, open-air  schools,  and  other  special  classes. 


Health  Supervision  293 

Facts  have  been  presented  which  show  that  chronic  physi- 
cal defects  exist  in  great  number  in  the  children  of  the  city, 
and  that  the  health  Work  thus  far  undertaken  has  given  only 
minor  attention  to  these. 

3.  The  necessary  extensions  of  the  work  will  require  a 
number  of  additional  physicians  and  nurses,  and  at  least 
two  half-time  dentists.     The  annual  budget  for  this  work 
should  not  be  less  than  $15,000,  and  it  ought  to  approxi- 
mate $20,000. 

4.  It  is  recommended  that  for  the  present  the  work  re- 
main under  the  charge  of  the  department  of  health,  particu- 
larly since  the  board  of  education  would  find  some  difficulty 
in  supporting  it  on  the  right  scale.     There  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  the  present  administration  of  the  board  of 
health  will  bring  about  needed  expansions  as  rapidly  as 
possible.     It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,   that  a 
change  of  administration  in  the  city  health  department  may 
at  any  time  make  it  imperative  for  the  board  of  education 
to  assume  control.1 

1  Further  data  in  support  of  the  recommendations  made  in  this  chapter  will 
be  found  in  the  following  books,  published  by  Houghton  Mifflin  Company: 
The  Hygiene  of  the  School  Child,  by  Lewis  M.  Tennan;  Health  Work  in  the 
School,  by  Hoag  and  Tennan;  The  Teacher's  Health,  by  Lewis  M.  Tennan. 


CHAPTER   XII 

PHYSICAL  EDUCATION,  PLAYGROUND  ACTIVI- 
TIES,   AND    HYGIENE    TEACHING 

i.    PHYSICAL  EDUCATION 

THE  physical-training  work  as  carried  on  at  present  in 
the  grades  below  the  high  school  is  of  limited  value. 
The  fault  lies  not  so  much  in  the  methods  employed  to  at- 
tain the  end  sought  as  in  the  fundamentally  wrong  concep- 
tion as  to  what  the  purpose  of  a  department  of  physical 
education  should  be. 

In  order  to  make  the  criticism  clear  we  may  distinguish 
two  types  of  physical  education : 

TWO   TYPES   OF   PHYSICAL   EDUCATION 

The  first  relies  chiefly  on  indoor  callisthenic  exercises, 
marches,  drills,  etc.,  and  on  mild  forms  of  directed  play 
which  can  be  carried  on  in  the  classrooms.  This  type  is 
inevitably  formal,  makes  little  appeal  to  the  child's  interests, 
fails  to  arouse  initiative,  has  no  moral  or  social  value,  and 
makes  little  or  no  contribution  to  health,  the  chief  end  of 
physical  education.  The  most  that  can  be  said  for  it  is 
that  children  occasionally  welcome  it  as  a  relaxation  from 
more  strenuous  mental  work,  and  that  certain  phases  of 
it  (dancing,  marching,  etc.)  have  an  aesthetic  value.  It  is 
a  type  which  once  had  wider  vogue  than  at  present,  though 
it  lingers  still  in  occasional  school  systems  where  German 
ideals  of  formal  drill  and  discipline  have  not  been  replaced 
by  American  ideals  of  personal  initiative  and  individuality. 

294 


Physical  Education  295 

The  second  type  places  the  emphasis  on  vigorous  outdoor 
recreation,  including  spontaneous  play,  organized  group 
games,  and  other  playground  activities.  Recreation  of  this 
kind  appeals  to  the  most  fundamental  interests  of  child  life, 
cultivates  initiative,  affords  constant  and  powerful  training 
in  moral  behavior,  stimulates  the  development  of  social  as 
contrasted  with  non-social  or  anti-social  traits,  and  pro- 
motes health  as  nothing  else  can.  This  is  the  kind  of 
physical  education  which  is  being  fostered  so  well  by  the 
rapidly  developing  playground  movement.  It  is  unques- 
tionably and  justifiably  destined  to  supplant  everywhere  the 
more  formal  type  of  physical  training  which  we  have  first 
described. 

These  two  types  are  not  necessarily  mutually  exclusive, 
but  may,  of  course,  be  combined  in  various  proportions. 
The  contrast  serves,  however,  to  make  clear  a  fundamental 
distinction,  and  is  especially  serviceable  in  any  evaluation 
of  the  physical  training  given  in  Salt  Lake  City. 

THE   TYPE   IN    SALT   LAKE   CITY 

Here  the  work  is  molded  mainly  and  purposely  after  the 
first  type.  Practically  all  of  it  is  carried  on  indoors,  either 
in  the  hallways  or  the  classrooms.  The  supervisor  and 
assistant  go  from  room  to  room,  taking  each  class  separately 
for  drills,  marches,  dances,  callisthenic  exercises,  and  in- 
door games.  Teachers  are  instructed  how  to  carry  on  these 
exercises,  and  are  expected  to  give  them  daily  if  the  special 
instructor  is  not  present.  Many  of  these  exercises,  as  given 
both  by  the  special  instructors  and  the  regular  teachers, 
were  witnessed  by  all  the  members  of  the  survey  commis- 
sion. They  were  found,  with  the  exception  of  the  dancing, 
uninteresting  to  the  children,  formal,  void  of  hygienic 
value,  and  barren  of  the  other  results  for  which  a  depart- 
ment of  physical  education  is  supposed  to  exist.  The  so- 
called  "  indoor  games  "  are  for  the  most  part  games  in 
name  only.  They  are  not  only  formal  and  dead  but  often 


296         School  Organization  and  Administration 

inane.  The  following  is  offered  as  an  average  and  fair 
example  of  the  kind  of  physical  education  carried  on  in  the 
grades  below  the  high  school. 

AN  AVERAGE  AND  FAIR  EXAMPLE  OF  THE  INDOOR  GAMES 

Time,  9.30  A.M.  Place,  regular  classroom,  somewhat 
dusty  and  with  windows  closed.  (Outdoors  the  air  is 
balmy  and  the  school  yard  is  flooded  with  sunshine.)  Class, 
fourth  or  fifth  grade  boys  and  girls.  Purpose  of  the  games 
was  stated  as  "  relaxation  from  mental  strain."  (The 
school  has  been  in  session  30  minutes,  and  the  pupils  have 
just  gotten  well  down  to  work.) 

Four  games  are  played  in  succession.  The  first,  which 
was  the  best,  may  be  described  as  a  "  writing  relay."  The 
front  pupil  in  each  row  is  given  a  piece  of  chalk.  At  a 
given  signal  this  is  to  be  handed  back  over  the  right  shoul- 
der to  the  pupil  behind,  and  by  that  one  to  the  next,  and  so 
on  until  it  reaches  the  last  pupil,  who  then  starts  it  forward 
over  the  left  shoulder.  When  the  chalk  has  made  the 
round  trip,  back  over  the  right  shoulder  and  forward  over  the 
left,  the  pupil  in  the  front  seat  rushes  to  the  blackboard  and 
hastily  writes  the  name  of  the  school.  Meanwhile  the  other 
pupils  in  the  row  move  forward  one  seat,  leaving  only  the 
rear  seat  vacant.  After  hastily  scratching  the  word  on  the 
blackboard  the  pupil  rushes  to  the  back  seat  and  passes  the 
chalk  forward  again  over  the  left  shoulder,  and  when  it 
reaches  the  one  in  the  first  seat  the  process  of  writing  the 
word,  moving  forward,  and  once  more  relaying  the  chalk  to 
the  front  is  repeated.  This  is  kept  up  until  all  the  pupils 
of  each  row  have  had  a  chance  to  scrawl  the  name  of  the 
school  on  the  blackboard.  An  attempt  is  then  made  to  judge 
the  writing  of  the  pupils  of  each  row  according  to  merit,  but 
it  is  found  that  all  of  it  is  equally  without  merit  owing  to 
the  haste  with  which  it  was  done. 

The  second  "  game  "  may  be  called  an  "  eraser  relay."    It 
consisted  chiefly  of  passing  an  eraser  back  along  the  row 


Physical  Education  297 

over  one  shoulder  and  forward  over  the  other,  with  a  little 
turning  and  shifting  of  seats  during  the  process.  No  con- 
test element  or  other  motive  was  evident,  and  the  main 
result  of  the  game  was  to  thicken  the  already  dust-laden 
air  of  the  schoolroom  with  clouds  of  chalk  particles  raised 
by  the  dropping  of  erasers. 

The  third  exercise  is  impossible  to  describe  because  it 
apparently  involved  no  definite  procedure,  and  no  logical 
beginning,  middle,  or  end.  It  consisted  in  having  children 
attend,  turn,  stand,  exchange  seats;  then  stand,  turn,  and 
sit  again,  all  by  staccato  command.  The  rule  for  exchang- 
ing seats  was  not  clear  to  the  observer  or  to  the  children, 
most  of  whom  got  lost  and  confused  in  the  process.  When 
this  had  been  kept  up  about  two  minutes  the  observer  was 
asked  to  judge  which  row  had  done  best,  but  he  was  obliged 
to  confess  that  he  had  seen  nothing  which  could  be  judged. 

The  fourth  game  was  a  running  relay,  from  the  front  to 
the  back  of  the  room  and  return,  involving  again  the  trans- 
fer of  an  eraser  at  each  link  of  the  relay.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  describe  it  in  detail.  Like  the  others,  it  was  a  mockery 
of  health-giving  exercise  and  a  travesty  of  real  play. 

The  pupils  returned  to  their  regular  work,  with  apparent 
relief,  and  for  the  remaining  two  hours  of  the  forenoon  in- 
haled at  each  breath  probably  ten  to  twenty  times  as  many 
injurious  dust  particles  as  would  have  been  the  case  had 
the  exercises  been  taken  out  of  doors,  or  not  taken  at  all. 

OTHER   EXERCISES   SEEN 

The  graded  course  in  dancing  admits  of  more  favorable 
comment.  The  dances  were  usually  pretty,  graceful,  and 
much  enjoyed  by  the  pupils.  It  is  recommended  that  this 
phase  of  the  physical  education  be  retained,  but  that  always, 
when  possible,  the  dancing  be  carried  out  in  the  open  air 
instead  of  in  the  halls,  as  at  present.  The  desirability  of 
more  attention  to  folk-dancing  may  be  suggested. 

Most  of  the  other  exercises  given  in  the  hallways  should 


298         School  Organization  and  Administration 

be  abandoned,  or  if  any  are  retained  they  should  be  given 
out  of  doors,  weather  permitting.  But  nothing  can  be  said 
in  favor  of  such  an  exercise  as  the  following,  wherever 
given : 

Second-grade  class,  in  a  basement  hallway  dark  enough 
to  require  artificial  lighting;  time  10  A.M.;  weather  outside 
beautifully  clear  and  warm.  The  children  are  arranged  in 
a  circle,  and  following  the  example  of  the  leader  each  holds 
his  hands  in  front  of  chest,  elbows  flexed,  and  repeats  in  a 
sing-song  tone,  "  One,  two,  three,  four "  (turning  the 
hands  over  one  another  so  as  to  make  one  revolution  at 
each  count)  ;  "  One,  two,  three,  four  "  (this  time  rotating 
the  hands  four  times  in  the  reversed  direction)  ;  "One, 
two  "  (bringing  the  two  fists  together  twice  on  a  horizon- 
tal line)  ;  "  One,  two  "  (striking  one  fist  twice  on  top  of 
the  other)  ;  "  Tra  la  la,  tra  la  la  "  (moving  forward  a  few 
steps).  The  purpose  of  this  exercise  was  stated  to  be 
"  health,"  but  the  observer  was  somewhat  at  a  loss  to  see 
the  connection,  and  the  one  in  charge  did  not  seem  able  to 
make  it  clear. 

The  above  concrete  descriptions  will  serve  to  illustrate 
the  type  of  work  which  was  witnessed  over  and  over  again 
in  all  parts  of  the  city  by  the  members  of  the  survey  staff. 
The  examples  given  are  in  no  way  whatever  exceptional.  It 
is  unnecessary  to  dwell  on  the  futility  of  so-called  physical 
training  of  this  type,  or  to  emphasize  the  absurdity  of 
carrying  on  the  exercises  in  dusty  classrooms  and  dark 
basement  halls.  There  may  be  some  excuse  for  indoor 
physical  training  in  the  schools  located  near  the  center  of 
New  York  City ;  there  is  no  excuse  in  Salt  Lake  City,  even 
though  some  of  the  school  grounds  are  of  scanty  dimen- 
sions. It  is  an  open  question  whether  most  of  the  physical 
training  witnessed  was  not  more  injurious  to  the  pupils  than 
beneficial. 


Physical  Education  299 


CHARACTER   OF   THE   YARD    PLAY 

Playground  activities  are  too  much  neglected.  Children 
on  the  school  grounds  were  rarely  seen  to  engage  in  real 
play  during  recess  periods.  Jumping  up  and  down,  push- 
ing and  shoving,  promiscuous  chasing,  and  boisterous 
horse-play  were  much  more  in  evidence  than  play.  Just 
standing  around  was  still  more  common.  Theoretically 
there  exists  a  curriculum  of  plays  and  games  for  the  chil- 
dren of  the  grades,  but  it  does  not  seem  to  be  in  operation. 
The  indoor  exercises  of  the  formal  kind  have  been  given 
the  right  of  way  for  the  reason  that  they  are  frankly 
claimed  to  have  the  greater  value. 

A  partial  exception  should  be  made  in  regard  to  the  inter- 
school  games  of  baseball  and  basketball,  which  occur  during 
the  last  month  of  the  school  year.  These  are  fairly  numer- 
ous, are  well  managed,  and  seem  to  arouse  much  interest. 
Grades  five  to  eight  are  represented  in  the  games,  though 
of  course  only  a  minority  of  the  children  in  these  grades 
can  belong  to  the  teams. 

On  the  whole,  however,  and  particularly  for  the  lower 
grades,  the  work  of  the  physical-training  department  needs 
to  be  reorganized  on  a  different  basis.  Its  purpose  should 
be  not  merely  relaxation  from  mental  work,  but  the  pro- 
motion of  health  through  vigorous  outdoor  exercise,  and 
the  development  of  such  a  love  of  outdoor  plays  and  sports 
as  will  function  through  life  as  a  cheap  form  of  health 
insurance.  We  are  rapidly  coming  to  understand  that  plays 
and  games  have  an  educational  value  along  moral  and  social 
lines  hardly  less  important  than  their  hygienic  value.  In- 
dividual initiative,  the  give-and-take  spirit,  resourcefulness, 
ready  judgment,  willingness  to  subordinate  personal  to 
group  interests,  loyalty,  cooperation,  and  social  understand- 
ing are  all  significantly  promoted  by  the  right  kind  of  play. 

To  insure  such  a  rich  development  of  the  play  life  needs 
to  be  encouraged  and  directed.  Without  direction,  play 
on  the  average  school  ground  is  likely  to  be  desultory,  lack- 


3OO         School  Organization  and  Administration 

ing  in  variety,  and  almost  void  of  educational  significance. 
It  is  of  course  not  necessary  or  desirable  that  play  super- 
vision be  carried  to  the  point  where  spontaneity  and  initia- 
tive are  destroyed.  It  is  not  argued  that  children  should 
be  driven  through  games  held  as  set  and  formal  exercises. 
What  is  meant  is  that  children  should  be  taught  and  en- 
couraged to  play  a  large  variety  of  outdoor  games,  selected 
with  special  reference  to  definite  stages  of  development  of 
the  play  interests  and  physical  capacities. 


PLAY  TEACHERS    NEEDED 

To  this  end  there  should  be  play  leaders  on  every  play- 
ground during  recesses  and,  if  possible,  before  and  after 
school  hours.  In  every  school  there  are  teachers  tempera- 
mentally adapted  to  this  kind  of  work.  One  energetic 
full-time  assistant,  working  under  the  direction  of  a  super- 
visor of  physical  education,  could  furnish  these  teacher 
play-leaders  the  necessary  instruction  for  carrying  on  the 
work.  Such  an  assistant  could  probably  be  secured  for 
about  $1,500.  In  addition  it  might  be  necessary  to  pay 
two  or  three  teachers  at  each  school  a  slight  increase  of  sal- 
ary for  their  service  as  play  leaders  during  intermission, 
or  a  somewhat  more  substantial  increase  for  play  super- 
vision after  school  hours. 

Over  all  these,  and  as  guiding  spirit  of  their  work,  would 
be  the  general  supervisor  of  physical  education,  whose  sal- 
ary should  approximate  that  which  is  now  paid,  and  whose 
duties  should  include,  as  now,  supervision  of  physical  edu- 
cation in  the  high  schools.  Unlimited  energy,  the  play 
spirit,  social  tact,  and  moral  leadership  are  among  the  es- 
sential qualifications  for  such  a  position.  The  director  of 
physical  education  who  is  endowed  with  the  proper  force 
of  character  and  with  an  inspiring  personality  exerts  a 
direct  and  wholesome  influence  on  every  child  in  the  school 
system.  Under  such  an  organization  much  could  be  ac- 


Physical  Education  301 

complished,  notwithstanding-  the  inadequacy  of  playground 
facilities  in  many  parts  of  the  city. 


PHYSICAL   EDUCATION   IN    THE   HIGH    SCHOOLS 

There  are  four  assistants  in  physical  training  in  the  high 
schools,  one  for  boys  and  one  for  girls  in  each  of  the  two 
schools.  The  women  assistants  are  paid  $800  and  $1,000; 
the  men,  $1,300  and  $1,400.  The  force  is  adequate  in  size, 
but  the  lower  salaries  are  not  large  enough  to  retain  the 
services  of  teachers  who  are  properly  equipped  and  suitably 
endowed  for  the  work. 


THE   MILITARY  DRILL 

The  main  criticism  of  the  physical  training  in  the  high 
schools,  however,  is  that  the  system  of  compulsory  military 
instruction  employed  monopolizes  the  time  of  the  boys  to 
such  an  extent  (4^  hours  a  week)  that  the  real  work  of 
physical  education  is  necessarily  relegated  to  a  minor  place. 
Military  training  may  have,  and  probably  does  have,  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  value,  but  a  compulsory  system  which 
takes  so  much  of  the  pupil's  time  and  energy  as  to  reduce 
other  forms  of  physical  training  to  an  extreme  minimum 
is  of  questionable  worth.  Military  drill  cannot  compete 
with  games  in  the  cultivation  of  such  desirable  traits  as 
initiative,  resourcefulness,  social  cooperation,  group  loyalty, 
and  love  of  play.  Moreover,  it  is  of  doubtful  value  from 
the  hygienic  point  of  view.  The  severity  of  the  drill  (Butt's 
Manual,  designed  for  use  with  adult  soldiers,  is  closely  fol- 
lowed) would  not  tax  the  strength  and  endurance  of  the 
mature  soldier  who  has  been  picked  on  the  basis  of  physi- 
cal fitness,  but  it  is  entirely  unsuited  to  the  physical  capacity 
of  many  of  the  younger,  weaker,  and  immature  high-school 
boys. 

Such  a  system  of  uniform  and  vigorous  exercise  for 
young  and  old,  weak  and  strong,  mature  and  immature,  de- 


302         School  Organization  and  Administration 

fective  and  sound,  transgresses  the  most  fundamental  laws 
of  physical  training.  The  weight  of  the  gun  which  is  car- 
ried (not  far  from  eight  pounds)  is  entirely  too  great  for 
the  lighter  boys,  and  the  necessity  of  carrying  it  always  on 
the  same  shoulder  predisposes,  in  the  case  of  young  boys 
whose  bones  are  still  flexible,  to  spinal  curvature  and  de- 
formity of  the  chest.  The  clothing  required  is  not  such  as 
should  be  worn  during  vigorous  exercise,  and  bathing  facili- 
ties are  not  sufficient  to  enable  all  to  take  a  bath  immediately 
after  the  drill.  Add  to  these  considerations  the  fact  that 
the  military  training  is  not  under  the  direction  of  the  de- 
partment of  physical  education,  and  is  therefore  carried  on 
without  expert  hygienic  or  medical  supervision  of  any  kind, 
and  we  have  a  condition  which  is  positively  pernicious  and 
dangerous. 

A  member  of  the  school  system,  who  has  had  ample  op- 
portunity to  learn  the  facts,  informed  members  of  the 
survey  staff  that  no  less  than  eighteen  cases  of  faintings 
during  or  after  drill  had  come  to  his  attention.  These  had 
all  occurred  in  the  last  three  years.  Faintings  and  tempo- 
rary prostrations,  however,  are  not  as  serious  as  the  more 
concealed  and  latent  injuries  likely  to  be  produced  in  those 
who  have  some  organic  impairment,  such  as  heart  lesion, 
weak  lungs,  diseased  kidneys,  etc. 

The  military  drill  of  the  high  schools  is  open  to  criticism 
on  still  other  grounds.  The  cost  of  a  uniform  is  not  far 
from  $16,  which  is  fully  equal  to  the  average  cost  of  text- 
books for  three  years.  This  must  be  a  serious  burden  to 
many  pupils,  and  as  long  as  this  expenditure  is  compulsory 
the  high  school  can  hardly  be  regarded  as  a  free  school. 
Many  would  also  question  the  political  and  moral  justifica- 
tion of  military  training  in  the  public  schools  of  a  demo- 
cratic and  peace-loving  nation,  but  as  this  aspect  of  the 
question  is  open  to  debate  it  will  not  be  urged  in  this 
report. 


Physical  Education  303 


BETTER    PHYSICAL    TRAINING    DESIRABLE 

There  are  other  reasons  of  sufficient  number  and  cogency 
to  justify  the  recommendation  that  the  system  of  military 
training  be  dropped,  and  that  the  time  be  given  over  to 
more  educational  lines  of  physical  training,  including  gym- 
nastics and  organized  games  and  sports  under  the  leader- 
ship of  well-trained  and  well-paid  instructors. 

The  present  corps  of  instructors  is  adequate  in  number 
to  take  care  of  the  proposed  enlargement  of  the  physical- 
training  work.  It  is  well  to  emphasize,  however,  that  the 
high-school  teacher  of  physical  training  should  have  as 
large  a  salary  as  other  members  of  the  high-school  teaching 
force.  It  is  harder,  in  fact,  to  find  a  first-class  teacher  in 
this  line  than  in  Latin,  mathematics,  or  history. 

It  would  not  be  consonant  with  the  aim  of  this  report  to 
describe  in  detail  the  particular  activities  which  the  depart- 
ment of  physical  training  should  carry  on  in  the  high  schools. 
All  of  this  can  safely  be  left  to  the  instructors,  providing 
proper  care  has  been  exercised  in  choosing  them.  In  all 
cases  they  should  have  had  special  training  for  such  work. 
No  greater  mistake  could  be  made  than  to  select  a  young 
college  graduate  merely  on  the  strength  of  his  enviable 
athletic  record.  The  professional  training  demanded  for 
this  work  includes  courses  in  personal  hygiene,  public 
health,  advanced  physiology  with  special  emphasis  on  the 
physiology  of  exercise,  the  theory  and  practice  of  physical 
education,  and  the  psychology  and  hygiene  of  adolescence. 
All  the  leading  universities  of  the  country  give  such  courses, 
and  only  candidates  with  a  liberal  professional  training  of 
this  type  should  be  considered.  In  order  to  secure  and  re- 
tain such  persons,  however,  it  will  certainly  be  necessary 
to  go  beyond  some  of  the  salaries  now  paid  to  the  teachers 
of  physical  training  in  the  high  schools. 


304         School  Organization  and  Administration 

2.    PLAYGROUND  ACTIVITIES 
SMALL  SCHOOL  PLAYGROUNDS 

Owing  to  short-sightedness  in  earlier  years,  Salt  Lake 
City  is  very  poorly  supplied  with  playground  space.  This 
condition  presents  a  surprising  and  painful  contrast  with 
the  spacious  residence  lots  throughout  the  city  and  with  the 
absence  of  crowded  tenement  districts.  So  serious  has  been 
the  neglect  that  the  playground  facilities  are  not  superior 
to  those  of  many  cities  far  older  and  many  times  as  popu- 
lous. The  situation  is  fully  appreciated  by  the  present  board 
of  education,  and  everything  possible  is  being  done  to  pro- 
vide the  newer  schools  with  liberal  playgrounds.  The  task 
of  making  good  the  neglect  of  former  years  still  remains, 
however,  and  presents  a  serious  financial  and  educational 
problem. 

Table  XXXIX,  on  page  231,  shows  the  number  of  square 
feet  per  child  in  the  entire  site  of  each  school,  including  the 
space  occupied  by  the  building,  and  Figure  37,  on  page  232, 
shows  the  percentage  of  children  attending  schools  which 
have  playgrounds  of  various  amounts  of  space  per  child. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  table  that  the  following  schools 
present  the  worst  conditions  in  this  respect:  Emerson, 
Grant,  Fremont,  Oquirrh,  Longfellow,  Lafayette,  Lowell, 
Franklin,  Wasatch,  and  Hamilton.  Webster,  Sumner,  Lin- 
coln, Forest,  Jefferson,  and  Poplar  Grove  are  only  a  little 
better  off.  In  several  of  these  the  grounds  could  still  be 
enlarged  by  the  purchase,  at  fairly  reasonable  figures,  of 
adjacent  unoccupied  or  little-improved  lots. 

In  the  erection  of  future  school  buildings  in  the  outlying 
districts  there  will  be  no  excuse  for  failure  to  provide  ample 
room.  Five  acres  should  be  considered  the  minimum  for 
schools  which  are  likely  to  enroll  any  considerable  number 
of  pupils  in  the  next  fifty  or  one  hundred  years.  In  a  rapidly 
growing  community  such  as  Salt  Lake  City  the  danger  is 


Playground  Activities  305 

always  on  the  side  of  short-sighted  economy.  A  mistake 
of  this  kind  becomes  increasingly  deplorable  as  the  years 
go  by,  until,  after  a  few  generations,  the  situation  is  both 
acute  and  irremediable.  It  is  a  sacred  duty  to  provide  not 
only  for  the  welfare  of  our  own  children,  but  also  for  the 
welfare  of  those  who  are  to  follow.  A  board  of  education 
which  fails  of  its  duty  in  this  regard  will  some  day  merit 
and  probably  receive  the  curses  of  those  whom  its  negli- 
gence has  defrauded. 

LARGER    USE   OF   PLAYGROUNDS   DESIRABLE 

Mfention  has  already  been  made  of  the  unsatisfactory  use 
the  playgrounds  are  put  to  during  school  hours.  This  fault 
seems  to  have  developed  mainly  in  recent  years  and  is  one 
which  can  be  largely  remedied  by  a  reorganization  of  the 
department  of  physical  education  along  the  lines  already 
proposed. 

The  use  of  the  playground  out  of  school  hours  is  still 
more  important.  At  present  school  grounds  valued  at  ap- 
proximately a  half-million  dollars  are  idle  and  unproductive 
a  large  part  of  the  day.  The  real  waste  is  infinitely  greater 
than  the  corresponding  interest  loss  on  an  unproductive 
financial  investment  of  a  commercial  kind,  for  it  is  a  waste 
of  health  and  of  educational  opportunity  which  cannot  be 
measured  in  dollars  and  cents.  The  remedy  is  to  open  the 
playgrounds  for  supervised  play  after  school  hours.  It 
would  be  possible  to  secure  regular  teachers  for  this  after- 
school  work  by  paying  a  small  additional  salary,  say  $30 
per  month  for  two  hours  each  afternoon  and  half  days  on 
Saturday. 

On  this  basis  the  total  expense  to  the  city  each  school 
year  would  not  exceed  $6,000  for  twenty  such  playground 
assistants.  This  is  far  less  than  the  interest  on  the  value  of 
the  grounds  for  that  part  of  the  school  year  during  which 
they  are  unused. 


306         School  Organization  and  Administration 


VACATION    PLAYGROUND   ACTIVITIES 

A  number  of  playgrounds  have  been  kept  open  during 
the  summer,  and  provided  with  play  facilities  by  the  joint 
action  of  the  board  of  education  and  the  city  park  commis- 
sion. This  work  should  be  extended,  and  should  by  all 
means  be  taken  over  entirely  by  the  board  of  education.  Its 
control  belongs  there  as  much  as  does  the  control  of  the 
school  plant  during  the  school  year,  and  the  unified  control 
will  be  much  cheaper  for  the  city  in  the  end. 

The  present  division  of  playground  control  between  the 
park  commission  and  the  board  of  education  has  led  to 
an  absurd  and  ridiculous  situation.  The  park  commission 
equips  a  number  of  school  yards  with  playground  apparatus 
for  use  during  the  summer,  but  when  school  begins  the 
apparatus  is  gathered  up  by  the  park  commission  and 
stored  away  for  safe  keeping  until  the  following  summer. 
The  same  children  are  there,  and  the  same  play  needs  are 
present,  but  the  board  of  education  is  now  in  control,  and 
so,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  bookkeeping  of  the  city  depart- 
ments the  apparatus  is  gathered  up  and  carted  off.  The 
only  way  for  the  board  of  education  to  meet  the  issue  and 
to  perform  its  obligations  to  the  recreational  needs  of 
children  is  to  take  over  the  entire  responsibility  of  the 
school  playgrounds  and  keep  them  running  twelve  months 
in  the  year.  This  will  involve  some  expense  for  salaries, 
and  will  necessitate  the  purchase  of  a  good  deal  of  play- 
ground apparatus,  but  it  is  the  only  solution. 

It  is  not  deemed  necessary  to  argue  here  the  general  ques- 
tion as  to  the  desirability  of  ample  playgrounds  and  in- 
creased playground  supervision.  Every  one  who  is  ac- 
quainted with  recent  developments  in  the  playground  move- 
ment knows  that  this  question  has  been  settled  once  for  all. 
Almost  every  city  in  the  country,  which  is  not  educationally 
benighted,  has  accepted  the  situation  and  is  making  an  effort 
to  enlarge  and  improve  its  recreational  facilities.  Any  other 


Hygiene  Teaching 


307 


attitude  is  not  only  bad  educationally,  but  bad  socially,  mor- 
ally, and  economically  as  well. 


3.    HYGIENE  TEACHING 


THE   PRESENT    COURSE   OF   INSTRUCTION 

The  course  of  study  in  physiology  and  hygiene  is  well 
planned  and  modern  in  every  respect.  The  texts,  which 
could  hardly  have  been  better  chosen,  include  the  following : 


MINUTES  PERWETK 
ZOO 


150 


100 


MAXIMO/A 


MEDIUM 

MINIMUM 


ABABABABABABABAB 
I         IE         HI         H        IT        U        "Stt      TM 
FIG.  44.    SHOWING  MINUTES  PER  WEEK  DEVOTED  TO  INSTRUCTION  IN 
PHYSIOLOGY  AND  HYGIENE 


Gulick's  Good  Health  (grades  3  and  4),  Gulick's  Town  and 
City  (grades  5  and  6A),  Gulick's  The  Body  and  Its  De- 
fenses (grade  6B),  and  Ritchie's  Primer  of  Sanitation 
(grades  7  and  8).  In  the  first  two  grades  the  hygiene  in- 
struction properly  consists  of  frequent  talks,  simple  in  na- 
ture, but  definitely  planned  so  as  to  acquaint  the  child  with 
a  fairly  wide  range  of  elementary  health  laws.  Throughout 


308         School  Organization  and  Administration 

the  course,  hygiene  instruction  rightly  takes  precedence  over 
physiology  and  anatomy. 

The  time  given  to  the  subject  is  on  the  whole  hardly  ade- 
quate. In  certain  schools  especially  is  this  true.  The  dis- 
tribution of  time  devoted  to  hygiene  among  the  various 
schools  is  represented  for  the  different  grades  separately  in 
the  preceding  chart  (Fig.  44).  The  middle  line  shows  the 
median  amount  of  time  per  week  for  the  city  as  a  whole, 
the  lower  line  the  amount  for  the  school  giving  least,  and 
the  upper  line  the  amount  for  the  school  giving  most  time 
to  the  subject,  in  all  cases  the  time  including  both  recitation 
and  study  periods. 

PRACTICAL   INSTRUCTION 

All  together  about  a  dozen  hygiene  lessons  were  witnessed 
in  whole  or  in  part  by  the  various  members  of  the  survey 
staff.  The  instruction  ranged  from  excellent  to  mediocre, 
but  on  the  whole  was  of  superior  quality.  Especially  com- 
mendable was  the  effort,  frequently  observed,  to  make  the 
hygiene  instruction  carry  over  into  the  everyday  habits  of 
the  children.  The  children  in  one  school  (and  this  may  have 
been  true  in  other  schools  also)  had  been  organized  into 
a  clean-up  brigade,  and  were  engaged  in  abating  such  nui- 
sances and  dangers  as  dirty  streets,  unclean  meat  shops, 
and  breeding  places  for  flies  and  mosquitoes.  The  board 
of  health  lends  its  active  support  to  such  work,  and  stands 
ready  to  invoke  the  authority  of  the  law,  if  necessary,  in 
order  to  remedy  the  evils  disclosed  by  the  school  pupils. 
Work  of  this  kind  goes  beyond  mere  instruction  in  hygiene 
and  becomes  training  for  effective  citizenship. 

Another  well-directed  effort  toward  making  hygiene  in- 
struction practical  was  found  in  a  school  where  the  teachers, 
acting  under  the  direction  of  the  principal,  require  the 
everyday  practice  of  personal  cleanliness  as  a  necessary 
condition  to  receiving  a  passing  grade  in  the  subject.  In 
other  instances,  however,  the  lessons  were  bookish  and  the- 


Hygiene  Teaching  309 

oretical.  That  greater  emphasis  could  well  be  placed  on 
making  the  hygiene  instruction  practical  is  illustrated  by 
such  facts  as  the  following:  that  only  50  per  cent,  of  the 
pupils  in  the  grades  use  a  toothbrush  regularly;  that  63 
per  cent,  have  not  been  to  a  dentist  in  the  last  year  and  that 
36.8  per  cent,  have  never  been  to  one;  that  in  several  of 
the  schools  personal  uncleanliness  and  lack  of  neatness  are 
common  among  the  children.  In  many  rooms  the  last  is 
attested  by  strong  and  disagreeable  odors  emanating  from 
the  unclean  bodies  and  clothing. 


THE   BUILDINGS    NEGATIVE   THE   INSTRUCTION 

In  this  connection  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  schools 
themselves  do  not  set  better  examples  of  hygiene.  The  ef- 
fectiveness of  hygiene  instruction  is  weakened  if  it  is  car- 
ried on  in  school  buildings  where  the  floors  are  dirty,  where 
the  feather  duster  still  lingers,  where  walls  and  ceilings  are 
discolored,  where  classrooms  and  halls  are  dark  and  dingy, 
where  physical  training  is  unnecessarily  carried  on  indoors, 
where  bathing  facilities  are  lacking,  where  filthy  roller 
towels  are  in  evidence,  where  toilets  are  dark,  unclean,  loud- 
smelling,  and  crowded,  or  where  disgusting  economies  are 
practiced  in  the  supply  of  toilet  paper.  Some  of  these  ex- 
amples are  before  the  children  in  every  school,  and  certain 
schools  are  guilty  of  every  sin  above  listed. 

It  must  never  be  forgotten  that  the  teaching  of  hygiene 
and  physiology  is  to  be  judged  solely  by  its  actual  influence 
on  the  lives  of  the  pupils.  However  ideal  the  course  of 
study  and  the  actual  instruction,  from  an  academic  stand- 
point, the  aim  of  the  work  is  attained  only  in  so  far  as 
practical  results  are  secured.  A  little  more  insistence  on 
this  point  of  view,  together  with  the  improvement  of  hy- 
gienic practice  on  the  part  of  the  school,  will  add  greatly 
to  the  efficiency  of  the  hygiene  instruction. 


3io         School  Organization  and  Administration 

SUMMARY    AND   RECOMMENDATIONS 

On  the  basis  of  the  results  of  this  chapter  the  survey 
makes  the  following  recommendations  as  to  needs  and  lines 
of  future  development : 

1.  Physical  education  as  carried  on  below  the  high  school 
is  based  on  a  fundamental  misconception  as  to  the  true  pur- 
pose of  such  work.    In  the  main  it  is  extremely  formal,  is 
carried  on  chiefly  indoors,  and  has  little  significance  for 
health.     The  work  should  be  entirely  reorganized  and  di- 
rected along  the  lines  of  outdoor  play  and  other  recrea- 
tional activities.     The  instruction  in  dancing,  however,  is 
good  and  should  be  retained,  with  somewhat  more  attention 
to  folk-dancing. 

2.  The  playgrounds  in  about  half  of  the  schools  are  ex- 
tremely inadequate,  and  insufficient  use  is  being  made  of 
those  which  exist.    It  is  urged  that  a  number  of  the  present 
playgrounds  be  enlarged,  that  the  school  authorities  en- 
deavor to  anticipate  future  needs  in  providing  sites  for  new 
buildings,  that  the  school  playgrounds  be  equipped  with  ap- 
paratus by  the  school  board,  and  that  they  be  kept  open  under 
paid  supervision  after  school  hours,  on  Saturdays,  and  dur- 
ing vacations. 

3.  It  is  recommended  that  education  through  play  be 
more  systematically  fostered  by  the  department  of  physical 
education,  and  that  a  sufficient  number  of  well-paid  assist- 
ants be  provided  for  this  purpose. 

4.  The  time  for  physical  education  in  the  high  schools 
is  too  much  monopolized  by  the  system  of  compulsory  mili- 
tary training.    It  is  recommended  that  the  military  training 
either  be  made  elective,  and  placed  under  the  direction  of 
the  department  of  physical  education,  or  that  it  be  eliminated 
altogether.    The  latter  is  perhaps  preferable.    As  conducted 
at  present  the  military  training  involves  serious  danger  to 
the  health  of  many  pupils  compelled  to  take  it. 

5.  The  hygiene  teaching  is  on  the  whole  good,  though 
in  certain  schools  hardly  enough  time  is  devoted  to  the  sub- 


Hygiene  Teaching  311 

ject.  In  certain  schools  commendable  devices  are  employed 
for  the  purpose  of  making  hygiene  teaching  effective  in  the 
daily  lives  of  children,  and  it  is  recommended  that  this  kind 
of  practical  hygiene  teaching  be  more  generally  emphasized. 
6.  It  is  suggested  that  the  effectiveness  of  hygiene  in- 
struction could  be  increased  by  the  correction  of  bad  hy- 
gienic examples  set  by  the  school  itself.  Improvements  in 
this  line  would  include  enlargement  of  playgrounds,  the 
elimination  of  dry  sweeping  and  dry  dusting,  the  installa- 
tion of  baths,  enlargement  and  improvement  of  toilet  facil- 
ities, the  elimination  of  roller  towels,  the  use  of  liquid  soap, 
and,  where  possible,  the  correction  of  defects  in  lighting, 
heating,  and  ventilation. 


PART   IV 

Finances 


CHAPTER   XIII 
THE    FINANCIAL    PROBLEM1 

CITY   COSTS   FOR   MAINTENANCE 

IN  the  study  of  costs  for  city  maintenance  in  Salt  Lake 
City,  with  special  reference  to  schools,  the  city  will  be 

TABLE  XLEX 

RANK  OF  SALT  LAKE  CITY  AMONG  SIXTEEN  WESTERN  CITIES  IN  ITEMS  OP 
EXPENDITURE  FOR  CITY  MAINTENANCE 


I 


Items 

Per  Capita  Cost  for 

Rank  of 
Salt  Lake 
City  in 
Amount 
Spent 

Salt 
Lake 
City 

1  6  Western  Cities 

Average 

Median 

i.  General  expenses  of  the  city  gov- 
ernment      

$1.44 
1.14 
.90 

143 
1.42 
.14 
6.71 

.16 
.42 

.12 

$1.84 
1.74 
1.76 
149 
2.09 

•30 

6.27 

•34 
•59 
.92 

$1.52 
1.47 
1.61 
MS 

2.IO 
.11 

5-73 

•35 
•Si 
•23 

loth   • 
iSth 
i6th 
9th 
i6th 
8th 
5th 

rtth 
loth 
i3th 

2.  Police  department    

3.  Fire  department  

4.  Health  and  sanitation     

5.  Care  of  streets      

6.  Charities,  hospital,  and  corrections 
7.  Schools  

8.  Libraries,      art      galleries,      and 
museums   

9.  Parks  and  playgrounds  

10.  Miscellaneous  expenses  

Total  per  capita  cost  

$13-88 
3-2Q 

$17-34 
3.06 

$15-08 
2.70 

1  2th 
7th 

it.  Interest  on  public  debt  

Total  per  capita  rate    .... 

$17.17 

$20.40 

$17.78 

i3th 

compared  chiefly  with  other  western  cities,  and  for  the 
reason  that  only  where  the  costs  for  service  and  materials 
are  comparable  are  total  costs  comparable. 

1  Chapter  XIII  was  written  by  Professor  Ellwood  P.  Cubberley,  the  Director 
of  the  Survey.  —  PUBLISHERS. 


316         School  Organization  and  Administration 


Comparing  all  general  city  costs  in  Salt  Lake  City  with 
the  fifteen  other  western  cities  first  used  in  Table  III,  page 
ip,  and  used  continuously  throughout  this  report,  we  get 
Table  XLIX,  calculated  from  the  United  States  Census 
Bureau's  last  published  volume  on  Statistics  of  Cities. 


FIG.  45.    How  SALT  LAKE  CITY  SPENDS  ITS  DOLLAR 

From  this  table  we  see  that  the  costs  for  all  items  of  city 
maintenance  in  Salt  Lake  City  are  low.  In  other  words,  it 
is  a  very  economically  administered  city.  The  figure  given 
above  shows  the  distribution  of  city  expenses  for  annual 
maintenance,  reduced  so  as  to  show  where  each  dollar  of 
taxes  raised  goes-  Only  in  the  expenditures  for  schools  and 


The  Financial  Problem 


for  interest  on  the  bonded  debt  do  the  costs  for  any  kerns 
in  the  list  reach  the  average  for  other  western  cities.  In 
three  items  Salt  Lake  City's  costs  are  the  lowest  of  the  list, 
while  in  totals  the  city  is  thirteenth  among  the  sixteen  cities. 
The  larger  per  capita  expense  for  schools  is  only  what 
would  be  expected  in  view  of  the  larger  number  of  children 
in  the  population,  as  was  shown  in  Table  III. 

An  examination  of  the  per  capita  costs  for  schools  in  the 
twenty-six  cities  used  in  previous  tables  in  this  report,  as 

TABLE  L 

SHOWING  PER  CAPITA  COSTS  FOR  CITY  MAINTENANCE,  INCLUDING  INTEREST 
CHARGES,  AND  PER  CAPITA  AND  PERCENTAGE  AMOUNT  FOR  SCHOOLS  * 

I.    Western  Cities  2 


City 

Total 
Mainte- 
nance Cost 
Per  Capita 

Cost  Per 
Capita  for 
Schools 

Per  Cent, 
of  Total 
for  Schools 

i.  San  Francisco,  Cal  

$36.00 

S-i.  2  7 

11.0% 

2.  Portland,  Ore.        

17.71 

4.7^ 

26.7 

3.  Tacoma,  Wash.         

IQ.OO 

4.QC 

24..  7 

4.  Seattle,  Wash  

22.1"; 

S.06 

24.8 

5.  Spokane,  Wash  

18.87 

c.4.1 

20.  7 

6.  Butte,  Mont  

i8.2<; 

c.71 

^1.6 

7.  Denver,  Colo.           

21.  OO 

q.72 

28.6 

8.  Sacramento,  Cal  

17.40 

"v72 

•?2.7 

9.  Oakland,  Cal  

17.77 

5-74 

^2."? 

10.  San  Diego,  Cal  

?2.<14 

6.01 

26.8 

ii.  San  Jos6,  Cal.        

14.01 

6.26 

42.O 

12.  SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH  .    .    . 
13.  Berkeley,  Cal  

17.17 
•    *4-74 

6.71 
7.60 

39.1 
51-3 

14.  Colorado  Springs,  Colo  

19.63 

7.64 

38.9 

15.  Los  Angeles,  Cal  

26.17 

8.66 

3I.Q 

16.  Pasadena,  Cal  

23.38 

IO.II 

47.* 

Average  for  the  group  

$20.48 

$6.27 

32-3% 

Median  for  the  group   .... 

10.27 

5.73 

31.8 

1  Statistics  here,  as  elsewhere,  are  from  the  United  States  Census  Bureau's  last-issued  annual 
volume  on  Statistics  of  Cities,  and  compare  all  cities  for  the  year  101:1-13. 

>  Ogden  is  omitted  from  this  group  for  the  reason  that  the  United  States  Census  Bureau  does 
not  publish  financial  statistics  for  cities  which  in  1910  had  less  than  30,000  inhabitants.  Ogden 's 
population  in  1910  was  25,580. 


318         School  Organization  and  Administration 


TABLE  L,  continued 
II.    Cities  of  the  Class  of  Salt  Lake  City 


City 

Total 
Mainte- 
nance Cost 
Per  Capita 

Cost  Per 
Capita  for 
Schools 

Per  Cent, 
of  Total 
for  Schools 

i.  Reading,  Pa  

$9-33 

%.I7 

33.6 

2.  Bridgeport,  Conn  

1^.24 

3.  2Q 

24.8 

3.  Lowell,  Mass  

14.72 

3-  00 

27.1 

4.  Lynn,  Mass  

i?.  6? 

4.O2 

2S.8 

5.  Lawrence,  Mass  

14.40 

4.  07 

28.2 

6.  Dayton,  Ohio     

14.46 

4.  1C 

28.7 

7.  Fall  River,  Mass  

14.00 

4.l6 

27.8 

8.  Albany,  N.Y  

17.  IO 

4.17 

24.4 

9.  Kansas  City,  Kan  

I3.IO 

4-22 

32.2 

10.  Troy,  N.Y.     .   . 

18.4.0 

4  24 

22.1 

ii.  Youngstown,  Ohio    

11.86 

4-37 

36.8 

12.  New  Bedford,  Mass  

18.57 

4.41 

23.8 

13.  Trenton,  N.J  

14.88 

4.8<; 

•22.6 

14.  Camden,  N.J  

1^.83 

4.QO 

ae.e 

15.  Tacoma,  Wash  

19.99 

4-0  S 

24.8 

16.  Omaha,  Neb  

20.82 

4.0O 

24.O 

17.  Somerville,  Mass  

17.83 

5.04 

18.4 

18.  Cambridge,  Mass  

22.  3O 

"?.I4 

2?.c. 

19.  Grand  Rapids,  Mich  

I3.8l 

«;.2i 

37.8 

20.  Duluth,  Minn  

17.22 

•^.24 

^O.2 

21.  Spokane,  Wash  

18.87 

"».4I 

20.  7 

22.  Yonkers,  N.Y.       .           .... 

22.60 

6.22 

27.4 

23.  Hartford,  Conn  

2O.94 

6.26 

3O.O 

24.  SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH      .   . 
25.  Springfield,  Mass  

17.17 

22.55 

6.71 

7.07 

39.1 

31.3 

26.  Des  Moines,  Iowa     

16.86 

7.26 

33.6 

Average  for  the  group      

$16.75 

$4.80 

2O.O 

Median  for  the  group       .... 

16.98 

4.88 

28.  <; 

well  as  in  the  sixteen  western  cities  with  which  comparison 
has  also  been  made  from  time  to  time,  gives  us  the  next 
table.  This  shows  the  total  city  maintenance  costs,  the  costs 
per  capita  for  schools,  and  the  percentage  of  the  total  city 
expenses  for  annual  maintenance  that  go  to  the  support  of 
public  education,  for  each  of  the  two  groups  of  cities. 


The  Financial  Problem  319 

Compared  with  the  first  half  of  the  eastern  cities  given 
in  Table  L,  Salt  Lake  City  appears  high,  both  in  the  per 
capita  cost  for  schools  and  in  the  percentage  of  city 
funds  given  to  education,  but  with  the  second  half  of 
the  eastern  cities,  and  with  the  western  cities,  Salt  Lake 
City  occupies  more  nearly  an  average  position. 

WHY   THESE   FIGURES   ARE   MISLEADING 

These  figures,  though,  are  somewhat  misleading,  not- 
withstanding they  are  the  ones  commonly  used  in  compar- 
ing costs.  In  the  first  place,  most  eastern  cities  pay  a  much 
lower  salary  schedule  to  women  teachers  than  is  the  case 
in  the  west,  and  as  approximately  65  per  cent,  of  all  ex- 
penses are  for  teachers'  salaries  it  will  be  seen  that  few 
eastern  cities  can  with  fairness  be  compared  with  western 
cities  in  the  matter  of  per  capita  school  expenditures.  An 
eastern  city  spending  $4.00  per  capita  for  schools,  and  pay- 
ing its  elementary  school  teachers  $40.00  a  month,  is  exactly 
the  same  as  a  middle  western  city  paying  its  teachers  $60.00 
a  month  and  spending  $5.30  per  capita,  and  the  same  as  a 
western  city  paying  its  teachers  $80.00  a  month  and  spend- 
ing $6.60  per  capita,  assuming  that  each  devotes  65  per 
cent,  of  its  maintenance  costs  to  teachers'  salaries.  For  this 
reason  any  comparison  of  eastern  with  western  cities  is 
likely  to  be  very  misleading.  Accordingly,  we  shall  from 
this  point  on  compare  Salt  Lake  City  only  with  other  west- 
ern cities,  where  salaries  and  other  school  costs  are  more 
comparable. 

The  figures  given  in  the  last  table,  both  for  eastern  and 
western  cities,  are  also  misleading  for  the  reason  that  they 
fail  entirely  to  take  account  of  the  percentage  of  school 
children  in  the  total  population.  A  community  such  as  Salt 
Lake  City,  as  was  pointed  out  in  Chapter  I,  must  spend 
more  money  because  of  the  much  larger  number  of  children 
it  contains.  A  per  capita  expense  of  $6.71  for  schools,  and 
39.  i  per  cent,  of  the  total  city  maintenance  costs  for  educa- 


320         School  Organization  and  Administration 

tion,  may  at  first  glance  look  large,  but,  as  will  be  shown 
farther  on,  it  really  is  not  so.  The  large  number  of  school 
children  in  the  city  necessitates  a  high  per  capita  cost  for 
schools,  without  the  cost  per  child  educated  being  high  at 
all,  while  the  large  percentage  of  city  funds  devoted  to 
schools  is  fictitious  for  the  reason  that  all  city  costs  for  other 
items  are  low.  If  Salt  Lake  City's  expenditures  for  other 
items  of  city  expense  were  at  as  high  a  rate  as  is  the  case 
in  many  western  cities,  the  percentage  devoted  to  education 
would  be  reduced  to  somewhere  near  25  to  30  per  cent. 
This  would  be  low,  considering  the  large  number  of  children 
of  school  age  in  the  population. 

A   REAL  BASIS   FOR   COMPARING   SCHOOL   COSTS 

To  get  a  real  basis  for  comparing  school  costs  we  must 
take  into  consideration  the  number  of  children  to  be  edu- 
cated, and  reduce  all  per  capita  costs  for  schools  to  what 
it  costs  per  capita  for  each  i  per  cent,  of  the  school  popula- 
tion. For  example,  if  a  city  spends  $6.00  per  capita  for 
schools,  and  12  per  cent,  of  its  population  consists  of  chil- 
dren between  5  and  15  years  of  age,1  it  can  be  seen  that  it 
spends  50  cents  for  each  one  per  cent,  of  its  school  popula- 
tion. If  another  city  also  spends  $6.00  per  capita  and  has 
1 5  per  cent,  of  children,  this  second  city  spends  but  40  cents 
for  each  I  per  cent,  of  its  school  population.  Similarly,  a 
third  city  having  20  per  cent,  of  children  spends  but  30 
cents  per  capita.  Though  each  city  is  given,  in  statistical 
tables,  as  spending  the  same  amount  per  capita  of  its  popu- 
lation for  schools,  in  reality  the  three  cities  are  spending  en- 
tirely different  amounts.  Any  real  comparison  of  per  capita 
costs  requires  that  we  first  reduce  our  cities  to  common 
terms,  and  see  what  each  is  spending  for  each  I  per  cent. 

1  These  two  age  limits  are  used  in  this  report  because  for  them  we  have  accu- 
rate percentages  for  all  states  and  cities  of  the  United  States,  collected  by  the 
United  States  Census  Bureau.  They  correspond  to  the  ages  from  the  kinder- 
garten to  the  completion  of  the  ninth  grade,  if  the  pupil  advances  normally. 


The  Financial  Problem 


321 


of  its  school  population.    Using  the  age  groups  5  to  15,  and 
reducing  all  to  a  I  per  cent,  basis,  we  get  Table  LI. 

The  last  column  of  this  table  gives  a  real  basis  for  com- 
paring school  costs  in  different  cities,  —  that  is,  what  each 


TABLE  LI 

COST  PER  CAPITA  FOR  SCHOOLS,  BASED  ON  EACH  ONE  PER  CENT.  OF  CHIL- 
DREN (FROM  5  TO  15)  IN  THE  TOTAL  POPULATION 


City 

Cost  Per 
Capita 
Total  Pop- 
ulation 
for  Schools 

Per  Cent, 
of  Popu- 
lation 5 
to  13 
Years  of 
Age 

Cost  for 
Schools 
for  Each 
i%of 
Children 
in  the 
Population 

i.  Tacoma,  Wash  

$4-0=1 

I?.  2 

$-32 

2.  SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH  .    .   . 
3.  San  Francisco,  Cal  

6.71 

4.27 

18.5 

II.  0 

•36 

.36 

4.  Spokane,  Wash  

5.41 

14.  <; 

.77 

5.  Butte,  Mont  

5.71 

i?.  i 

.77 

6.  Denver,  Colo  

5.72 

I?.  2 

•  37 

7.  Portland,  Ore  

4-73 

I2.O 

•  30 

8.  Seattle,  Wash  

5.06 

12.5 

.40 

9.  San  Diego,  Cal  

6.01 

13.4 

46 

10.  Sacramento,  Cal.  .               .... 

c.72 

12.  1 

.47 

it.  Oakland,  Cal  

5.74 

I4.I 

•47 

12.  San  Jos6,  Cal  

6.26 

13.8 

.48 

13.  Colorado  Springs,  Colo  

7.64. 

16.0 

.48 

14.  Berkeley,  Cal.        

7.6o 

14.-  7 

,C2 

15.  Los  Angeles,  Cal  

8.66 

I7.O 

.67 

16.  Pasadena,  Cal  

IO.II 

13.6 

•74 

Average  for  the  group      

$.45 

Median  for  the  group       

•43 

city  is  spending  per  capita  for  each  one  per  cent,  of  its 
school  children.  As  parochial  and  private  schools  have 
never  flourished  in  western  cities,  with  the  possible  excep- 
tion of  San  Francisco,  the  comparison  of  costs  is  all  the 


322         School  Organization  and  Administration 

more  accurate.  Similar  comparisons  for  the  twenty-five 
cities  of  the  first  part  of  Table  L  show  a  range  of  from  30 
cents  to  45  cents  for  eastern  cities,  but  the  low  salaries  paid 
women  teachers  there,  and  the  large  hold  of  both  private 
and  parochial  schools,  make  the  comparisons  less  accurate 
than  for  western  cities.  Hartford,  Conn.,  however,  shows 
a  per  capita  expense  of  40  cents  for  each  i  per  cent,  of  its 
children  between  5  and  15  years  of  age;  Des  Moines,  Iowa, 
44  cents ;  and  Springfield,  Mass.,  45  cents. 


THE   MEDIAN    WESTERN    COST 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  last  column  of  Table  LI  that  the 
average  cost  for  the  sixteen  western  cities  is  45  cents,  as 
against  Salt  Lake  City's  36  cents,  and  that  the  median 
western  cost  is  43  cents.  The  cities  which  are  caring 
properly  for  their  children  are  those  which  are  spending 
more  than  these  amounts.  Averages  and  medians  show 
only  a  halfway  point  between  good  conditions  and  poor  con- 
ditions, and  almost  never  represent  a  desirable  stopping 
place.  Still,  to  see  the  position  of  the  different  cities  in 
the  matter  of  caring  for  their  children,  and  to  set  up  a  ten- 
tative standard  for  school  maintenance,  let  us  take  the 
median  of  43  cents  as  a  standard  below  which  a  city  ought 
not  to  go,  and  apply  it  to  each  of  the  cities  of  the  table. 
Multiplying  the  percentage  of  children  of  school  age  in  the 
total  population  by  the  meridian  cost  of  43  cents  for  each 
i  per  cent.,  we  get  Table  LII. 


WHERE   SALT   LAKE   CITY   STANDS 

The  second  column  of  figures  shows  what  each  city  of 
the  table  should  spend  per  capita  of  the  total  population 
for  the  maintenance  of  its  schools,  merely  to  bring  that  city 
up  to  the  median  point  for  the  sixteen  western  cities.  To 
bring  any  city  up  to  the  average  for  western  cities  would 


The  Financial  Problem 


323 


TABLE  LII 
MEDIAN  AND  ACTUAL  COST  PER  CAPITA  FOR  SCHOOLS  FOR  WESTERN  CITIES 


City 

PerCent 
of  Popu- 
lation 
from  3 
to  15 
Years  of 
Age 

Desira- 
ble Cost 
Per  Cap- 
ita at 
$-43  for 
each  i% 
of  Chil- 
dren 

Actual 
Cost  Per 
Capita 

Excess 
or  Defi- 
cit over 
Estimate 

i.  San  Francisco,  Cal  

II.O 

$?.I2 

$4.27 

-$  .85 

2.  Portland,  Ore  

I2.O 

S.l6 

4-7S 

—      -43 

3.  Sacramento,  Cal  

12.  1 

,     O-*^ 

<;.2o 

5.72 

+      .52 

4.  Seattle,  Wash  

12.  <; 

5.38 

5.06 

—      .32 

5.  Los  Angeles,  Cal  

I3.O 

5-SQ 

8.66 

+  3-O7 

6.  San  Diego,  Cal  

1^.4 

5.76 

6.01 

+     -25 

7.  Pasadena,  Cal  

13.6 

5.84 

IO.II 

+  4-27 

8.  San  Jos6,  Cal  

13.8 

C.Q7 

6.26 

+     -33 

9.  Oakland,  Cal  

14.1 

6.06 

5-74 

—     .32 

10.  Spokane,  Wash  

14.  cr 

6.24. 

e.4.1 

—     .83 

11.  Berkeley,  Cal  

14.7 

6.^2 

7.60 

-f  1.28 

12.  Butte,  Mont  

IS.  I 

6.  40 

5.71 

-     .78 

13.  Tacoma,  Wash. 

IS.  2 

6.C4. 

4.Qcr 

—   I.  co 

14.  Denver,  Colo  

IS.  2 

6.S4 

5.72 

-     .82 

15.  Colorado  Springs,  Colo  

16.0 

6.88 

7.46 

+     .58 

16.  SALT  LAKE  CITY,   UTAH     . 

18.5 

7.96 

6.71 

-  1.25 

cost  slightly  more.    For  Salt  Lake  City  it  would  raise  the 
desirable  per  capita  cost  from  $7.96  to  $8.33. 

On  the  basis  of  a  cost  of  $7.96  it  is  seen  that  Salt  Lake 
City  is  spending,  on  the  maintenance  of  its  schools,  $1.25 
less  per  capita  of  the  total  population  than  it  should,  merely 
to  put  the  city  in  a  middle  position  in  the  matter  of  annual 
school  maintenance.  On  a  basis  of  a  total  population  of 
110,000,  this  would  mean  that  the  city  should  raise  and 
expend  on  maintenance  alone  $137,500  more  than  it  now 
does,  merely  to  care  for  its  present  children  as  well  as  is 
done  in  the  median  western  city.  To  rank  with  the  better 


324         School  Organization  and  Administration 

western  cities  in  the  matter  of  public  education  would  mean 
an  additional  expenditure  for  maintenance  of  approximately 
$200,000  a  year. 

These  figures  tally  well  with  the  statement  made  in  Chap- 
ter IV,  after  considering  the  increasing  number  of  pupils 


TABLE  LIII 

MAINTENANCE  COST  PER  PUPIL  IN  AVERAGE  DAILY  ATTENDANCE 


City 


Cost  Per  PiipU 

in  Average  Daily 

Attendance 


1.  Tacoma,  Wash $43.92 

2.  SALT  LAKE   CITY,  UTAH 44.81 

3.  San  Francisco,  Cal 44.86 

4.  Denver,  Colo.      48.07 

5.  San  Jos6,  Cal 44.86 

6.  Portland,  Ore 49-95 

7.  Oakland,  Cal 52.33 

8.  Colorado  Springs,  Colo 52.65 

9.  Spokane,  Wash 54-94 

10.  San  Diego,  Cal 59-9° 

11.  Seattle,  Wash 60.50 

12.  Berkeley,  Cal 62.20 

13.  Butte,  Mont. 63.45 

14.  Sacramento,  Cal 64.75 

15.  Los  Angeles,  Cal 68.03 

16.  Pasadena,  Cal. 86.87 

Average  for  the  group $55-23 

Median  for  the  group 52.65 


per  teacher,  that  the  city  needs  now  about  one  hundred  addi- 
tional teachers  merely  to  care  properly  for  its  present  num- 
ber of  children.  Table  LIII  above,  which  shows  the 
amount  expended  by  the  different  western  cities  for  each 
child  in  average  daily  attendance  at  school,  here  based  on 
figures  collected  and  published  by  the  United  States  Com- 
missioner of  Education,  also  confirms  the  above  estimate  as 


The  Financial  Problem  325 

to  the  need  for  large  additional  funds  to  maintain  properly 
the  present  schools. 

From  this  table  it  will  be  seen  that  Salt  Lake  City  is  next 
to  the  lowest  for  all  western  cities  in  the  amount  spent  per 
pupil,  and  much  below  both  the  median  and  the  average 
for  the  group.  The  difference  of  $7.84  below  the  median, 
for  the  18,367  pupils  in  the  schools  during  1914-15,  would 
require  an  increase  of  $143,997  merely  to  bring  the  city's 
expenditures  up  to  the  middle  point  of  expenses  for  western 
cities.  To  bring  the  city  up  to  the  average  western  city  in 
expenditures  would  require  $191,384  increase. 

WEALTH   AND   TAX    RATES 

There  still  remains  to  be  considered  the  real  wealth  of 
the  city,  and  the  tax  rate  required  to  produce  the  median 
rate  of  43  cents  for  each  I  per  cent,  of  the  school  popula- 
tion in  Salt  Lake  City,  and  in  other  western  cities.  Taking 
now  the  actual  wealth  of  each  western  city,  as  shown  in 
Table  VI,  Chapter  I,  and  the  desirable  per  capita  support 
for  schools  at  the  western  median  figure  of  43  cents  for 
each  i  per  cent,  of  the  school  population,  we  get,  by  divi- 
sions, Table  LIV.  This  shows  the  actual  wealth  in  each 
city  upon  which  each  dollar  of  the  tax  for  schools  must 
be  raised,  and  the  rate  of  tax  per  $100  of  actual  wealth 
necessary  to  raise  this  median  sum. 

It  is  here  that  the  large  per  capita  wealth  of  Salt  Lake 
City  tells.  Were  the  city  as  poor  as  Butte,  it  would  require 
a  tax  of  over 'one  dollar;  had  the  city  as  few  children  as 
Portland,  the  tax  would  be  reduced  to  a  trifle  over  30  cents. 
It  is  very  evident  that  Salt  Lake  City  can  afford  large 
families. 

Figure  46  shows  clearly  how  the  tax  rate  for  schools  must 
increase  proportionally  to  the  number  of  children  of  school 
age  in  the  population.  The  figures  and  lines  of  this  chart 
give  the  rate  of  tax  for  school  support  which  would  be  re- 
quired, in  Salt  Lake  City,  to  provide  merely  the  median 


326         School  Organization  and  Administration 


TABLE  LIV 

TAX  RATES,  BASED  ON  ACTUAL  WEALTH,  NECESSARY  TO  PRODUCE  ESTIMATED 
PER  CAPITA  SUPPORT  FOR  SCHOOLS 


Desira- 

ble Per 

Rate  of 

Capita 

Actual 

Tax  on 

Support 

Wealth 

Each 

Actual 

for 

for  Each 

$100  of 

City 

Wealth 
Per  Capita 

Schools 
at  $.43 
for  Each 

Dollar  of 
Estimated 
Per  Capita 

Actual 
Wealth 
Neces- 

School 

Support 

sary  to 
Produce 

Popula- 

Estimate 

tion 

i.  Butte,  Mont  

$70?.  88 

$6.40 

$122.62 

$.814 

2.  Denver,  Colo  

1126.50 

6.?4 

172.2? 

.18 

3.  Colorado  Springs,  Colo.  .    .    . 

1202.31 

6.88 

174-75 

•572 

4.  San  Jose,  Cal  

1081.02 

?.Q3 

182.30 

?46 

5.  Tacoma,  Wash  

1237.22 

6.?4 

l8o.I7 

.?27 

6.  SALT  LAKE   CITY,  UTAH 

1683.52 

7.96 

211.50 

.473 

7.  Berkeley,  Cal  

1371.13 

6.^2 

216.0? 

.461 

8.  Oakland,  Cal  

1477.92 

6.06 

243.88 

.41 

9.  Spokane,  Wash  

1666.12 

6.24 

267.01 

.37? 

10.  Seattle,  Wash.      ...... 

1602.77 

5.38 

2Q7.QO 

•  33? 

11.  Pasadena,  Cal  

1791.41 

5.84 

3O6.7? 

.326 

12.  Los  Angeles,  Cal  

1030.87 

34?.4I 

.280 

13.  Sacramento,  Cal  

1706.60 

?.2O 

34?.  ?O 

.280 

14.  Portland,  Ore  

1024.44 

372.0? 

.260 

15.  San  Diego,  Cal  

2?o6.oo 

5.76 

4?o.6o 

.222 

16.  San  Francisco,  Cal  

2561.82 

?OO.3? 

.20 

Average  for  the  group      .    . 

$1630.85 

$6.06 

$281.25 

$.405 

Median  for  the  group      .    . 

1634-45 

6.00 

255-44 

•397 

rate  of  43  cents  for  each  i  per  cent,  of  school  population, 
if  the  city  had  the  same  percentage  of  children  in  its  popula- 
tion as  have  the  different  cities  given  on  the  figure.  That  is, 
if  Salt  Lake  City  had  as  few  children  as  Portland,  which  is 


The  Financial  Problem 


327 


in  many  respects  a  comparable  city,  the  tax  required  would 
be  but  $.307  on  the  $100,  instead  of  $.473;  if  it  had  as 
many  children  as  Fall  River,  the  tax  required  would  be 

$.522. 


TAX      RATE,  IN    CENTS. 
10  2.0  30  40 


GO 


I.  SAN  FRANCISCO 
Z.  PORTLAND 
3.  SACRAMENTO 
4  SEATTLE 

3.  LOS  ANGELES 
G.SAN  01  EGO 
7.PASADENA 
1. SAN  JOSE 

9.  OAKLAND 

10.  SPOKANE 

II.  BERKELEY 
12.BUTTE 
13.TACOMA 
14  DENVER 

15.  COLORADO  SPR. 

IG.AV.FORAIiClTlEs! 

17.SALTLAKECITY 

I&.YONKER3.NY. 

19.  SCRAN-TON.  PA. 

20.FAU.RIYER.MASS. 


FIG.  46.  TAX  RATE  IN  CENTS  ON  EACH  $100  OF  REAL  WEALTH  WHICH  WOULD 
BE  REQUIRED  FOR  PROPER  MAINTENANCE  IN  SALT  LAKE  CITY,  IF  THE 
PERCENTAGE  OF  CHILDREN  WERE  THE  SAME  AS  IN  THE  OTHER  CITIES  OF 
THE  TABLE 


NEED   FOR   A   LARGER   SCHOOL   TAX 

A  tax  rate  for  schools  of  $.473  per  $100  of  real  valuation 
is  equivalent  to  a  tax  rate  of  $1.3514  on  the  present  assessed 


328         School  Organization  and  Administration 

valuation  of  35  per  cent.  This  is  the  same  as  13.5  mills,  as 
taxes  are  usually  calculated  in  Utah.  As  the  money  received 
from  state  and  county  sources  is  worth  somewhere  near 
3.5  mills,  the  total  local  tax  desirable  for  proper  maintenance 
is  about  10  mills.  Under  the  new  state  law  requiring  prop- 
erty to  be  assessed  at  its  full  value,  beginning  with  1916,  the 
maintenance  rate  should  not  be  less  than  4  mills.  The  legis- 
lature, however,  in  ordering  assessments  advanced  to  full 
value,  has  at  the  same  time  cut  the  rate  of  tax  allowed  pro- 
portionally. This  leaves  the  schools  with  two  mills  in  place 
of  their  present  six.  That  the  assessor  will  treble  the 
assessed  valuation  of  the  property  in  Salt  Lake  City  may  be 
seriously  doubted.  If  valuations  are  actually  increased 
two  and  one-half  times,  the  result  will  be  as  satisfactory  as 
has  usually  taken  place  elsewhere. 

With  a  tax  rate  for  maintenance  already  wholly  inade- 
quate, and  the  new  rate  reduced  in  proportion  to  the  ex- 
pected increase  in  valuations,  just  what  the  schools  of  Salt 
Lake  City  are  to  do  in  the  immediate  future  is  rather  hard 
to  see.  It  looks  as  though  even  more  serious  cramping  and 
crowding  of  the  schools,  and  the  employment  of  more  cheap 
and  inexperienced  teachers,  with  little  or  no  new  develop- 
ment, would  be  the  inevitable  result.  At  the  present  time 
the  schools  of  Salt  Lake  City  can  hardly  claim  a  high  place 
in  any  single  phase  of  recent  public-school  development,  and 
largely  because  the  city  school  authorities  have  had  so  little 
money  with  which  to  develop  the  system.  It  has  taken  all 
of  the  money  to  maintain  the  traditional  type  of  school  and 
teach  the  so-called  fundamental  school  subjects.  Where  the 
schools  will  be  in  a  decade  more  of  the  present  policy  of 
pinching  to  make  both  ends  meet  is  not  hard  to  guess.  The 
drawing  on  the  opposite  page  shows  that  for  years  the 
schools  have  not  kept  up  their  expense  for  maintenance  pro- 
portionally with  the  increase  in  pupils,  and  that  a  material 
part  of  the  recent  increase  in  expenses  has  been  due  to  rap- 
idly increasing  charges  for  bond  interest  and  expenditures 
for  buildings  and  sites.  The  expenditures  for  annual  main- 


The  Financial  Problem 


329 


330         School  Organization  and  Administration 

tenance,  represented  by  the  space  in  white,  has  hardly 
widened  in  proportion  to  the  increase  in  membership  in  the 
schools.  Under  the  present  tax  limit  necessary  educational 
increases  are  difficult,  while  the  desirable  new  features  and 
additions  recommended  in  this  report  are  not  financially 
possible. 

THE   REMEDY   A   LEGISLATIVE   ONE 

The  trouble,  however,  does  not  lie  with  the  people  of  Salt 
Lake  City.  They  are  willing  enough  to  educate  their  chil- 
dren properly.  Recent  editorials  in  the  leading  newspapers 
regarding  the  schools  and  their  support  would  lead  one  to 
feel  that  they,  the  people,  are  willing  to  go  even  further 
and  support  the  schools  even  generously.  It  is  the  people 
of  Utah,  as  represented  in  the  state  legislature,  who  stand 
in  the  way.  This  is  done  by  imposing  a  maintenance  tax- 
limit  so  small  as  to  make  really  good  schools  for  the  future 
entirely  out  of  the  question.  This  is  neither  justice  nor 
sound  public  policy.  Public  education  is  the  great  means 
for  improving  government  and  advancing  intelligence.  If 
any  community  desires  to  provide  better  schools  for  its 
children,  and  is  willing  and  able  to  do  so  by  local  taxation, 
it  is  exceedingly  short-sighted  for  the  state  to  stand  in  its 
way  and  prevent  its  doing  so. 

That  the  people  of  Salt  Lake  City  are  able  to  pay  a  much 
larger  local  school  tax  for  maintenance  has  been  shown. 
That  they  must  provide,  from  25  per  cent,  to  50  per  cent, 
more  schools  and  teachers  than  the  average  western  city 
has  also  been  shown.  That  the  people  are  willing  to  pay 
more  is  confidently  believed.  Such  being  the  case,  the  legis- 
lature ought  to  enlarge  materially  the  local  tax  permitted 
to  be  levied.  Under  the  new  assessment  law  a  tax  of  at 
least  4  mills,  clearly  for  maintenance,  should  be  provided, 
and  if  interest  and  sinking  funds  are  to  continue  to  be  paid 
from  this,  the  rate  should  be  5  mills.  In  but  few  cities  are 
bond  interest  and  sinking  funds  required  to  be  paid  from 


The  Financial  Problem  331 

the  annual  maintenance  rates.  It  would  be  better  to  shift 
these  items  to  the  building  tax,  leaving  the  maintenance 
fund  clear  for  school  support. 

With  the  many  pressing  building  needs,  both  for  new 
buildings  to  keep  up  with  the  growth  of  the  city  and  for  the 
alteration  and  gradual  replacement  of  rooms  not  now  fit 
for  use  as  schoolrooms,  as  is  pointed  out  at  some  length  in 
Chapter  X,  an  annual  building  tax  of  2^2  or  3  mills,  under 
the  new  assessment  basis,  is  not  too  high.  Salt  Lake  City 
needs  many  new  schoolrooms,  and  so  far  as  possible  these 
ought  to  be  paid  for  as  built.  In  a  city  as  wealthy  as  this 
one  the  annual  interest  charge  on  bonds  ought  not  to  be 
increased  where  it  can  be  avoided.  The  city's  interest  bill 
is  relatively  high  now. 

There  can  of  course  be  no  relief  from  present  conditions 
until  the  legislature  gives  the  city  larger  freedom  to  spend 
what  it  has  in  its  own  pockets,  and  is  willing  to  spend  if 
permitted  to  do  so.  The  enactment  of  a  new  governing 
school  law,  embodying  the  main  lines  of  the  law  suggested 
in  the  Appendix  to  this  report,  would  solve  the  difficulty 
entirely  and  enable  the  city's  educational  system  to  advance 
to  the  place  it  ought  by  right  to  occupy. 

DISTRIBUTION    OF   EXPENDITURE 

But  one  question  of  a  financial  nature  still  remains  to 
be  considered,  and  that  is  whether  the  present  expenditures 
are  properly  proportioned.  Tabulating  for  the  same  six- 
teen western  cities  previously  used,  we  get  Table  LV. 

This  table  answers  the  question.  Excepting  for  textbooks 
and  supplies,  Salt  Lake  City's  distribution  of  expenditures 
follows  closely  the  average  for  the  sixteen  cities,  and  is 
also  close  to  the  median.  The  higher  percentage  for  text- 
books and  supplies  comes  from  the  free  textbooks  supplied 
by  the  city.  In  all  California  cities  these  are  supplied  by 
the  state,  while  in  Washington,  Oregon,  and  Montana  the 
pupils  furnish  their  own  books. 


332         School  Organization  and  Administration 


TABLE  LV 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  SCHOOL  EXPENDITURES  IN  SALT  LAKE  CITY,  COMPARED  WITH 
SIXTEEN  OTHER  WESTERN  CITIES 


Percentage  of  Total  Spent  for  Each 

Items 

In  Salt 
Lake 

Average 
City 

Median 

Highest 

Lowest 

City 

i.  For  administration    .    .    . 

3-° 

3-3 

3-° 

4.6 

1.8 

2.  For  supervision      .... 

9-9 

Q.I 

9-7 

15-3 

3-4 

3.  For  teachers'  salaries  .    . 

64.1 

67.2 

64.8 

71.6 

60.0 

4.  For  janitors  and  labor  .    . 

5-5 

5-9 

5-5 

10.8 

4.2 

5.  For  textbooks  and  school 

supplies 

7-0 

S-4 

4.8 

II.Q 

1.6 

6.  For  fuel,  water,  power,  and 

/     7 

•J*^ 

y 

other  supplies    .... 

3-4 

3-7 

3-5 

8.0 

1.2 

7.  For  maintenance  and  re- 

pair of  plant      .... 

5-8 

6.0 

5-7 

12.  1 

3-i 

8.  For  health  conservation  . 

O.2 

0.4 

O.2 

1.2 

.0 

9.  For  miscellaneous     .    .    . 

O.2 

o-5 

1-9 

2.7 

.0 

DISTRIBUTION    OF    EXPENDITURES    FOR   THE   NEXT   TWO 

YEARS 

For  the  next  two  years,  until  some  adequate  legislative 
relief  can  be  obtained,  it  is  important  that  the  board  of  edu- 
cation devote  as  large  a  proportion  of  its  funds  as  possible 
to  the  first  three  items  of  the  table.  All  repairs  which  the 
educational  department  does  not  certify  as  absolutely  neces- 
sary should  wait,  and  all  expenses  not  necessary  for  instruc- 
tion should  be  curtailed.  Even  then  there  may  not  be  suffi- 
cient funds  to  maintain  the  schools  during  1916-17  for 
longer  than  nine  and  a  half  months,  or  possibly  nine.  The 
people  of  Salt  Lake  City  as  a  body  scarcely  realize  how  in- 
adequately their  schools  are  supported,  or  what  a  handicap 
they  labor  under  by  reason  of  the  restrictions  laid  upon 
them  by  the  laws  of  the  state. 


Appendix 


APPENDIX 

A  SUGGESTED  LAW  FOR  THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  SALT 
LAKE  CITY  SCHOOL  DISTRICT 

THE  following  is  a  suggestion  for  a  new  law  for  the  Salt  Lake  City  school 
district,  based  on  the  needs  presented  in  this  report.    For  the  reasons 
for  the  different  recommendations,  made  in  the  following  suggested  law,  the 
reader  is  referred  back  to  the  different  chapters  of  the  report  itself. 

AN  ACT,  PROVIDING  FOR  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  SCHOOLS  IN  CITIES  OF  THE 
FIRST  CLASS 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Utah: 

Section  i.  Sections  amended.  That  Sections  1892  to  1961,  inclusive,  Com- 
piled Laws  of  Utah,  in  so  far  as  such  relate  to  the  government  of  schools  in 
cities  of  the  first  class,  unless  otherwise  herein  provided,  are  amended  to  read 
as  follows: 

Section  2.  Schools  in  cities  of  the  first  class.  Each  city  of  the  first  class,  and 
all  territory  which  shall  hereafter  be  added  thereto,  shall  constitute  one  school 
district,  and  shall  be  under  the  control  of  a  board  of  education  to  be  elected  as 
herein  provided,  separate  and  apart  from  the  counties  in  which  the  cities  are 
located.  All  public  schools  and  property  shall  be  under  the  direction  and  con- 
trol of  the  board  of  education  for  such  city,  and  the  schools  therein  shall  be  free 
to  all  children  of  the  city  between  the  ages  of  five  and  twenty-one,  and  to  such 
other  persons  as  the  board  of  education  may  decide  to  admit. 

Section  3.  The  board  of  education;  how  constituted.  The  board  of  education 
in  each  city  of  the  first  class  shall  consist  of  five  members,  to  be  elected  from  the 
city  at  large,  one  each  year  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  December,  and  for  a  five- 
year  term;  provided,  however,  that  of  boards  of  education  in  cities  of  the  first 
class  in  existence  when  this  act  takes  effect,  the  five  members  who  have  the 
longest  remaining  time  to  serve  shall  constitute  the  new  boards  of  education, 
and  the  five  who  have  the  shortest  time  to  serve  shall  pass  out  of  office  the 
day  this  act  takes  effect;  and  provided  further,  that  the  five  members  who  re- 
main shall  forthwith  proceed  by  lot  to  so  provide  for  the  termination  of  their 
terms  of  office  that  the  term  of  one  member  shall  expire  at  the  close  of  the  year 
in  which  this  act  takes  effect,  and  one  other  at  the  close  of  each  year  thereafter 
for  the  following  four  years.  All  elections  thereafter  shall  be  for  five-year  terms, 

335 


336  Appendix 

except  in  the  case  of  vacancies  caused  by  the  death,  resignation,  or  removal  of 
a  member  from  office,  in  which  case  elections  shall  be  for  the  unexpired  term. 
The  board  of  education  shall  fill,  by  appointment  until  the  next  annual  school 
election,  any  vacancies  occurring  in  its  own  membership.  All  members  elected 
shall  qualify  previous  to,  and  take  their  seats  at  the  first  regular  meeting  in 
January  next  after  their  election,  and  shall  serve  until  their  successors  are  duly 
elected  and  qualified.  Each  member  shall  be  and  remain  a  qualified  registered 
voter  of  the  city,  and  shall  receive  no  compensation  for  his  services. 

Section  4.  Conduct  of  elections.  Elections  for  members  of  the  board  of 
education  shall  be  called  and  conducted,  and  the  canvass  of  returns  shall  be 
made,  and  the  qualification  of  electors  shall  be  as  provided  in  the  general  regis- 
tration and  election  laws,  except  as  herein  provided.  There  must  be  at  least 
one  polling  place  in  each  municipal  ward,  which  may  be  at  a  schoolhouse  or 
schoolhouses  to  be  designated  by  the  board  of  education.  It  shall  not  be  neces- 
sary to  file  certificates  of  nomination  of  candidates,  nor  to  publish  a  list  of 
nominations.  Appointments  of  judges  of  election  shall  be  made  by  the  board 
of  education,  at  any  convenient  time  prior  to  the  day  of  election.  Any  form  of 
ballot  which  is  simple  and  plain  and  which  conveys  the  intention  of  the  voter 
may  be  used.  In  case  a  member  is  to  be  elected  to  fill  out  an  unexpired  term, 
as  well  as  one  for  the  full  term,  the  ballots  shall  specify  the  term  which  each 
person  voted  for  is  to  serve.  The  ballot  shall  be  folded,  and  no  designating  mark 
or  device  of  any  kind  shall  appear  on  the  outside  thereof,  and  shall  be  deposited 
in  the  ballot  box  by  the  presiding  judge  of  election,  in  the  presence  of  the  voter, 
on  the  name  of  the  proposed  voter  being  found  on  the  registry  list,  and  on  all 
challenges  to  such  vote  being  decided  in  favor  of  such  voter.  Boards  of  educa- 
tion shall  exercise  all  such  powers  relative  to  school  elections  in  their  respective 
cities  as  are  conferred  upon  the  boards  of  county  commissioners  in  other  elec- 
tions, so  far  as  conformable  with  this  title. 

Section  5.  Organization  of  board;  executive  officers.  The  members  elected  as 
herein  provided,  before  entering  upon  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  shall  take 
and  subscribe  the  oath  of  office.  At  the  first  regular  meeting  in  January  of 
each  year  each  board  shall  reorganize  by  electing  one  of  their  number  as  presi- 
dent, and  one  other  member  as  vice-president. 

Each  board  shall  also  appoint  a  superintendent  of  schools,  a  clerk  and  pur- 
chasing agent,  a  superintendent  of  buildings,  a  superintendent  of  attendance 
and  census,  a  superintendent  of  health  work,  and  a  treasurer,  and  may  appoint 
such  other  officers  as  the  needs  of  the  schools  shall  require;  provided,  however, 
that  all  such  officers  now  employed  shall  continue  to  serve  for  the  terms  for 
which  they  were  originally  appointed,  and  thereafter  such  officers  shall  be  ap- 
pointed for  two-year  terms,  unless  otherwise  provided  in  flu's  act.  Any  officer 
appointed  by  the  board  may,  however,  be  removed  at  any  time,  for  cause,  by  a 
four-fifths  vote  of  the  board.  Their  salaries  shall  be  as  fixed  by  the  board,  but 
a  salary  once  fixed  cannot  be  reduced  during  the  term  of  office  of  any  officer. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  president,  or  in  case  of  his  absence  the  vice-presi- 
dent, to  preside  at  all  meetings  of  the  board,  to  appoint  any  necessary  special 


Appendix  337 

committees,  and  to  sign  all  warrants  ordered  by  the  board  of  education  to  be 
drawn  upon  the  treasurer  for  school  moneys.  It  shall  be  the  chief  function  of 
the  board  of  education  to  hear  reports,  settle  matters  of  school  policy,  decide 
upon  extensions  and  improvements,  appropriate  funds,  and  adopt  rules  and 
regulations  for  the  government  of  its  executive  officers;  it  shall  be  the  chief 
function  of  the  executive  officers  appointed  by  the  board  of  education  to  exe- 
cute the  policies  decided  upon  and  to  work  in  accordance  with  the  rules  and  reg- 
ulations adopted  for  their  government  by  the  board. 

Section  6.  The  superintendent  of  schools.  The  board  of  education  shall 
appoint  a  superintendent  of  schools,  for  a  four-year  term,  who  shall  be  an  edu- 
cator of  rank  and  experience,  and  who  shall  be  the  chief  executive  officer  of  the 
board  of  education.  He  shall  have  supervisory  and  coordinating  oversight  of 
the  work  of  all  other  department  officers,  shall  be  notified  of  and  be  expected  to 
attend  all  regular  and  special  meetings  of  the  board  of  education,  or  any  special 
committees  of  the  same  which  may  have  been  created,  —  except  when  his 
position,  services,  or  salary  is  under  consideration,  —  and  shall  have  the  right 
to  speak  on  any  question  under  consideration,  but  no  right  to  vote.  He  shall 
have  the  exclusive  right  to  nominate  for  election  the  superintendent  of  build- 
ings, the  superintendent  of  attendance  and  census,  the  superintendent  of  health 
work,  and  all  assistant  superintendents,  special  supervisors,  principals,  and 
regular  and  special  teachers,  and  shall  assign  to  them  their  duties.  He  shall 
also  have  exclusive  control  of  the  outlining  and  directing  of  the  instruction  in 
the  schools.  For  incompetency,  immorality,  or  insubordination,  he  may  remove 
any  teacher,  principal,  or  supervisor  from  office,  and  shall  report  his  action  to  the 
board. 

Section  7.  The  clerk  and  purchasing  agent.  The  clerk  and  purchasing  agent 
shall  be  appointed  for  two-year  terms,  and  before  entering  on  the  duties  of  his 
office  he  shall  give  a  bond  running  to  the  board  of  education,  in  such  sum  as  the 
board  may  require,  conditioned  on  the  faithful  performance  of  the  duties  of  his 
office.  It  shall  be  his  duty  to  attend  all  meetings  of  the  board  and  its  commit- 
tees, and  to  act  as  the  secretary;  to  keep  an  accurate  journal  of  its  proceedings, 
and  have  the  care  and  custody  of  the  seal,  records,  and  papers  not  otherwise  pro- 
vided for;  to  countersign  all  warrants  drawn  upon  the  treasurer  by  order  of  the 
board;  to  keep  an  accurate  account  of  all  moneys  paid  to  the  treasurer  on  ac- 
count of  said  board,  and  from  what  source  received,  and  all  moneys  paid  on 
orders  drawn  on  the  treasurer  by  order  of  said  board;  and  to  prepare  and  submit 
to  the  board  an  annual  statement,  under  oath,  of  the  receipts  and  disburse- 
ments during  the  year  ending  June  thirtieth,  showing: 

1.  The  amount  on  hand  at  the  date  of  the  last  report; 

2.  The  amount  of  sinking  fund  and  how  invested; 

3.  The  moneys  paid  out,  and  for  what  paid; 

4.  The  balance  of  school  moneys  on  hand; 

5.  The  number,  date,  and  amount  of  every  bond  issued  and  redeemed  under 
the  authority  herein  given,  and  the  amount  received  and  paid  therefor. 


338  Appendix 

The  clerk  shall  also  act  as  purchasing  agent  for  the  board,  unless  the  board 
should  decide  to  divide  the  duties  and  appoint  a  purchasing  agent,  and  he  shall 
buy,  under  direction  of  the  board,  the  superintendent  of  schools,  or  the  execu- 
tive officers  concerned,  all  materials  and  supplies  needed  by  the  school  depart- 
ment. 

Section  8.  The  treasurer.  The  treasurer  shall  give  a  satisfactory  bond  run- 
ning to  the  board  of  education,  in  such  amount  as  the  board  may  require,  con- 
ditional on  the  faithful  performance  of  the  duties  of  his  office.  He  shall  be  the 
custodian  of  all  moneys  belonging  to  the  corporation,  and  responsible  upon 
his  bond  for  all  moneys  received  by  him  as  treasurer.  He  shall  prepare  and  sub- 
mit in  writing  a  monthly  report  of  the  receipts  and  disbursements  of  his  office, 
and  pay  out  school  moneys  only  upon  a  warrant  signed  by  the  president,  or  in 
his  absence  or  disability,  by  the  vice-president,  countersigned  by  the  clerk,  and 
shall  perform  such  other  duties  as  the  board  may  require. 

Section  g.  The  superintendent  of  buildings.  The  superintendent  of  build- 
ings shall  be  a  person  who  has  been  trained  as  an  engineer,  and  shall  have  charge 
of  the  maintenance  and  repair  of  the  school  plant,  under  the  direction  of  the 
superintendent  of  schools.  All  repairs  and  alterations  must  first  be  approved 
by  the  superintendent  of  schools.  The  superintendent  of  buildings  shall  employ 
all  janitors,  mechanics,  and  laborers  as  needed,  shall  direct  them  as  to  their 
duties,  and  may  dismiss  them  for  cause. 

Section  10.  The  superintendent  of  attendance  and  census.  The  superintendent 
of  attendance  and  census  shall  have  charge  of  the  enforcement  of  all  laws  re- 
lating to  the  attendance  of  children  at  school,  the  granting  of  working  permits 
to  children  from  whom  such  permits  are  required,  and  the  taking  and  mainte- 
nance of  detailed  and  accurate  records  as  to  the  age,  nationality,  whereabouts, 
physical  condition,  and  attendance  or  non-attendance  at  school  of  every  child 
between  the  ages  of  five  and  sixteen  in  the  city,  and  shall  supply  such  informa- 
tion in  duplicate  form  to  the  schools  of  the  city.  From  the  card  records  on  file 
the  annual  school  census,  required  of  all  districts  annually  hi  July,  shall  be  com- 
piled and  forwarded  to  the  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction. 

In  cities  of  the  first  class  all  children  within  the  compulsory  school  ages,  and 
not  exempted  from  attendance  by  law,  shall  be  expected  to  attend  school  every 
day  the  public  schools  are  in  session,  and  to  provide  for  the  proper  enforcement 
of  this  law  all  private  and  parochial  schools  shall  make  reports  as  to  children 
within  the  compulsory  school  ages  attending  their  schools,  and  the  public  school 
attendance  officers  shall  in  turn  enforce  the  attendance  of  pupils  enrolled  in  pri- 
vate or  parochial  schools. 

Section  n.  The  superintendent  of  health  work.  Where  the  health  work  is 
efficiently  conducted  by  the  board  of  health,  the  board  of  education  may  per- 
mit it  to  remain  under  such  jurisdiction,  but  at  any  time  it  may  cooperate  with 
the  board  of  health  in  further  developing  the  work,  or  take  over  the  work  in  part 
or  in  whole.  In  any  case  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  board  of  education  to  see  that 
an  efficient  school  health  service  is  provided  for  the  schools  of  the  city,  with 


Appendix  339 


nurses,  physicians,  and  such  specialists  as  may  be  needed  properly  to  carry 
on  the  work. 

Section  12.  Annual  report.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  board  of  education 
in  each  city  of  the  first  class  to  see  that  an  annual  report,  covering  the  operations 
of  the  schools,  the  finances,  and  the  operations  of  the  different  departments  or 
divisions  of  the  school  system,  with  sufficient  statistical  matter  properly  to 
illustrate  the  progress  of  the  schools,  is  compiled  and  printed  for  distribution 
among  the  people  of  the  city.  The  superintendent  of  schools  shall  report  on  the 
educational  work,  progress,  and  needs  of  the  schools,  and  the  other  executive 
officers  shall  report  through  him  as  to  the  work  of  their  departments. 

Section  13.  Annual  budget.  Each  year  the  board  of  education  in  each  city 
of  the  first  class  shall  cause  to  be  compiled,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  May  of 
each  year,  a  detailed  budget  covering  the  needs  of  the  schools  for  the  school 
year  commencing  on  the  first  day  of  July  next  thereafter,  in  all  of  their  depart- 
ments. When  prepared  this  budget  shall  be  submitted  to  the  board  of  educa- 
tion for  its  approval.  The  budget  shall  show  the  amounts  necessary  to  carry  on 
the  school  system  as  it  is,  the  amounts  needed  for  necessary  additions,  and  the 
amounts  desired  for  extensions  or  expansions  of  the  school  system.  The  budget 
shall  also  be  classified  so  as  to  show  the  needs  for  each  department,  and  the 
amounts  needed  for  maintenance  of  the  schools,  maintenance  and  repair  of 
plant,  additional  sites  and  buildings  or  additions  to  existing  sites  or  buildings, 
bond  interest  and  sinking  fund  requirements,  and  such  other  items  as  the  board 
of  education  may  direct. 

Section  14.  Annual  school  tax.  When  the  budget  has  been  approved  by  the 
board  of  education,  the  amounts  estimated  to  be  received  from  state  and  county 
school  taxes  shall  first  be  deducted,  and  the  board  of  education,  through  its 
proper  officers,  shall  forthwith  cause  the  remaining  amount  to  be  certified  to  the 
officers  charged  with  the  assessment  and  collection  of  taxes  for  general  county 
purposes  in  the  county  in  which  the  city  is  situated,  and  such  officers,  after  hav- 
ing extended  the  valuation  of  property  on  the  assessment  rolls,  shall  levy  such 
per  cent,  as  shall,  as  nearly  as  may  be,  raise  the  amount  required  by  the  board, 
which  levy  shall  be  uniform  on  all  property  within  the  said  city  as  returned  on 
the  assessment  roll;  and  the  said  county  officers  are  hereby  authorized  and  re- 
quired to  place  the  same  on  the  tax  roll.  Said  taxes  shall  be  collected  by  the 
county  treasurer  as  other  taxes  are  collected,  but  without  additional  com- 
pensation for  assessing  and  collecting,  and  he  shall  pay  the  same  to  the  treasurer 
of  said  board,  promptly  as  collected,  who  shall  hold  the  funds  subject  to  the  order 
of  the  board  of  education;  provided,  that  the  tax  for  the  support  and  mainte- 
nance of  such  school  system  in  cities  of  the  first  class  shall  not  exceed,  for  annual 
maintenance,  five  mills  on  the  dollar  in  any  one  year  upon  the  taxable  property 
of  said  city,  of  which  at  least  sixty  per  cent,  shall  not  be  used  otherwise  than  for 
the  payment  of  teachers  and  supervisory  officers;  nor  three  mills  on  the  dollar 
in  any  one  year  for  repairs  or  extensions  of  the  school  plant,  new  sites  or  build- 
ings, and  bond  interest  and  sinking  fund  or  bond  redemption  requirements. 


340  Appendix 

Section  15.  Other  powers.  Boards  of  education  in  cities  of  the  first  class 
shall  exercise  all  rights  and  powers,  and  be  charged  with  all  responsibilities  and 
duties  now  by  law  given  to  boards  of  education  hi  cities  of  the  first  and  second 
class,  except  in  the  matter  of  the  examination  and  certification  of  teachers  as 
provided  for  in  Sections  1916  to  1926  inclusive  of  the  compiled  laws  of  the  State, 
except  in  so  far  as  such  may  have  been  amended  by  the  provisions  of  this  Act. 


Index 


INDEX 


Accelerated  pupils,  196-200. 

Administrative  control  by  superin- 
tendent, 44-46. 

Administrative  departments,  25. 

Administrative  organization.  See  Or- 
ganization. 

Age  and  grade  distribution  table,  195. 

Age  groups  in  population,  n. 

Age  on  entering  first  grade,  208. 

Annual  school  report,  339. 

Arithmetic,  circular  as  to  teaching,  99; 
fundamental  operations  tested,  173- 
186;  in  course  of  study,  171;  rea- 
soning test  in,  186-190;  teaching  in, 
observed,  98;  work  tested,  171-190; 
time  given  to,  171;  type  of  test  in, 
117;  widely  varying  results  in,  178. 

Art,  and  construction,  103;  and  hand- 
work outlines,  104. 

Attendance,  at  high  school  compared, 
66;  by  years,  63;  of  pupils,  48,  59. 

Backward  children,  209;  studied,  213. 
Basement  and  hall  classrooms,   249- 

251-.    , 
Batavia  instruction,  220. 

Baths,  school,  256. 

Binet-Simon  scale,  213. 

Bird  study  in  one  school,  95. 

Blackboards,  253. 

Board  of  Education,  board  too  large, 
34;  committees  of,  and  their  work, 
25;  importance  of  work  of,  24;  pres- 
ent organization  shown,  27;  present 
organization  wrong,  26;  proper  func- 
tions of,  23;  recommendations  for 
reorganization  of,  35;  suggested  elec- 
tion of,  336;  suggested  new  organiza- 
tion of,  335,  336;  suggested  powers 
for,  335-340;  things  members  should 
not  do,  33;  to  represent  the  state, 

220. 

Budget,  annual  school,  339. 


Buildings  and  health,  229-268. 

Buildings,  school,  basement  and  hall 
classrooms  in,  249-251;  construc- 
tion and  costs,  265;  heating  of,  242- 
246;^  lighting  of,  235-242,  258; 
repairs  of,  265;  superintendent  of, 
338;  temperatures  found  in,  244- 
246;  ventilation  of,  246-249;  waste 
of  space  in,  233-235. 

Census,  school,  bureau  needed,  60; 
data  needed,  60;  card  system,  61; 
present,  59;  value  of,  in  locating 
buildings,  62. 

Children,  age  and  grade  distribution 
table,  195;  exceptional,  223-224; 
mental  classification  of,  211;  prog- 
ress through  schools,  194;  retarded, 
196-202. 

Civics,  instruction  in,  80,  91. 

Classrooms,  basement  and  hall,  249- 

25r- 

Class  work  observed,  in. 

Cloakrooms,  253. 

Committees  of  board,  25,  336. 

Composition,  results  of  tests  in,  141- 
150;  samples  of  average  work,  146- 
149.  See  also  Language. 

Constructive  work  and  art,  103. 

Cost  for  schools,  317,329;  maintenance 
cost  per  pupil,  324;  median  Western 
cost,  322-323;  real  basis  for  com- 
paring, 320. 

Courses  of  study,  the,  71  ff.;  how  con- 
structed, 74;  opinions  and  tests  of, 
71;  probably  not  adapted  to  needs, 
67;  time  allotments  in,  77,  90; 
what  prescribed,  75;  work  tested, 
130-193- 

Delinquency,  the  problem  of,  225. 
Departments,  main  administrative,  25. 
Desks,  school,  251. 


343 


344 


Index 


Distribution  of  pupils,  accelerated  and 
retarded,  200;  age  and  grade  dis- 
tribution, 195;  of  all  in  fifth  grade, 
206. 

Domestic  arts  and  science,  109. 

Drawing  in  lower  grades,  105. 

Drinking  fountains,  260. 

Educational  department,  administra- 
tion of,  36;  staff  of,  38;  work  of,  36. 

Elementary  school,  courses  of  study, 
74;  salaries  of  teachers,  51;  Eng- 
lish work  in,  81. 

Enrollment,  changes  in,  in  twenty 
years,  65;  of  pupils,  59. 

Entering  age  of  pupils,  208. 

Examination  test,  types  of,  116. 

Exceptional  children,  223;  typical 
cases  of,  224. 

Expenditures  for  schools,  by  years, 
329;  distribution  of,  331-332. 

Extensions,  desirable  school,  119. 

Eyes  of  children,  284-285. 

Feeble-minded  children,  214  ff.;  num- 
ber found  in  every  city,  216;  proper 
training  of,  219,  221;  waste  due  to, 
215. 

Financial  problem,  the,  315-332. 

Fire  protection,  264. 

Floors,  cleaning  of,  263. 

Gardening,  at  Whittier  School,  96; 
school  and  home,  96. 

Geography,  work  in,  100;  instruc- 
tion in,  observed,  101;  type  of  ex- 
amination in,  1 1 6. 

Grade  supervision,  quality  of,  118. 

Grammar  and  language,  85;  type  of 
examination  test  in,  116. 

Grammar  grades,  spirit  of,  86. 

Growth  of  schools,  a  quarter  century 
of,  37,  475  rapid,  36. 

Hall  classrooms,  249-251. 

Health  conditions  among  Salt  Lake 
City  children,  280. 

Health  questionnaires  used,  282-283. 

Health  supervision,  269-293;  an  ideal 
service,  274;  costs  for,  270;  dis- 
eases found,  278;  expansions 
planned,  279;  should  be  extended, 


291;  staff,  269,  338;  stages  in  de- 
velopment of,  271-273,  277. 

Health  teaching,  307-311. 

Heating  of  school  buildings,  242-246. 

High  school,  attendance  at,  compared, 
66;  junior,  119-121;  senior,  127; 
salaries  of  teachers  in,  53. 

History,  attention  to  local,  92;  excel- 
lent features  of  course,  93;  in  the 
elementary  schools,  91. 

Hygiene  teaching,  307-311. 

Individual  differences  as  shown  by 
tests  of  school  work,  137,  144,  154, 
164. 

Initiative,  premium  placed  on,  46. 

Instruction  in  the  schools,  as  outlined, 
71;  as  seen,  no;  classroom  work 
observed,  in;  measured,  130 
(See  also  Tests);  quality  of,  no. 

Intelligence  tests,  211. 

Janitor  service,  261-264. 

Junior  high  school,  the,  119;   plan  as 

yet    imperfectly    developed,     120; 

types  of  courses  needed,  121. 

Kindergartens,  the,  72;   more  needed, 

73- 
Kindergarten  theory,  the,  72. 

Language  and  grammar,  85;  exami- 
nation tests,  1 1 6;  work  in  the  ele- 
mentary schools,  81.  See  also  Com- 
position. 

Law,  suggested  new,  for  the  Salt  Lake 
City  school  district,  335-340. 

Lighting  of  buildings,  235-242,  258. 

Malnutrition,  290. 

Manners  and  morals,  80. 

Manual  training,  courses  of  study  in, 
poor,  106;  suggestions  for  improve- 
ment of,  108;  the  work  in,  106; 
work  needs  enlarging,  107. 

Mental  classification  of  pupils,  211. 

Mentally  exceptional  children,  289. 

Military  drill  in  the  high  school,  301- 

3°3- 

Modeling,  105. 
Music,  102. 


Index 


345 


Nature  study,  work  in,  93;   diversity 

in  different  schools,  94. 
Nose  and  throat  troubles,  284. 
Nurse,  the  school,  diseases  found  by, 

278;  effectiveness  of  work  done,  278; 

work  of,  277. 

Open-air  schools,  255. 

Organization  of  the  school  department, 
desirable  reorganization  of,  30-31, 
34;  existing  form  of,  26-27;  right 
principles  in  organization  of,  29; 
suggested  reorganization  by  a  new 
law,  335-340- 

Penmanship.    See  Writing. 

Phonics,  85. 

Photometer  used,  241. 

Physical  education,  294-306;  average 
and  fair  example  of,  296-298;  play 
teachers  needed,  300;  type  found 
in  city,  295,  301. 

Physical  training,  109. 

Playgrounds,  activities  in,  304-306; 
small,  231,  304;  vacation,  306. 

Population  of  city,  character  of,  7; 
children  in,  10, 12;  rate  of  growth,  66. 

Population  of  selected  cities,  9. 

Principals  of  schools,  43;  work  of,  112. 

Promotions,  of  pupils,  115;  and  fail- 
ures, by  grades,  207. 

Public,  the,  and  the  superintendent  of 
schools,  32. 

Pupils,  per  teacher,  48,  50;  per  super- 
visory officer,  39;  promotion  of,  115. 

Reading  and  literature,  82;  how  to  im- 
prove, 84;  oral  work  in,  83;  mem- 
ory test,  168;  speed  test,  166;  work 
in,  tested,  159-170. 

Reasoning  test  in  arithmetic,  186-190. 

Repairs  to  school  buildings,  265. 

Repeaters,  204. 

Report,  annual  school,  339. 

Retardation,  causes  of,  208;  explana- 
tions of,  209. 

Retarded  pupils,  196-202;  by  grades, 
201;  distribution  of,  202. 

Salaries  of  teachers,  elementary 
school,  51;  high  school,  53;  more 
money  needed  for,  58. 


Salary  schedules,  54-56;  compared  for 
other  city  employees,  57. 

Salt  Lake  City,  compared  with  Port- 
land, Oregon,  as  to  children,  13; 
comparative  isolation  of,  4;  cost  for 
schools  in,  compared,  317;  growth  in 
population,  5;  how  it  spends  its 
dollar,  316;  industries  of,  14;  needs 
of,  19;  occupations  of,  14, 15;  popu- 
lation, character  of,  7;  population, 
children  in,  10,  12,  13;  population, 
age  groups  in,  n;  position  of,  3; 
position  of,  as  to  teachers,  49;  rank 
of,  as  to  city  expenses,  315;  rate  of 
growth  of,  6;  school  organization  of, 
24;  suggested  new  school  law  for, 
335-340;  vocations  in,  123-126; 
wealth  of,  16;  wealth  of,  compared, 
17,  18. 

School,  attendance,  increase  in,  48, 
50,  59;  board  (See  Board  of  Educa- 
tion); census  (See  Census,  school); 
buildings  (See  Buildings,  school); 
clerk,  large  importance  of,  28;  clerk, 
suggested  powers  and  duties  of,  337; 
department  organization  (See  Or- 
ganization); gardening,  96;  nurse 
\See Nurse);  principals, 43 ;  progress, 
importance  of  proper,  194;  progress 
of  children,  194  ff.;  report,  annual, 
339;  seats,  251,  258;  sites,  229-233; 

^  tax,  annual,  327,  330,  338. 

Schools,  rapid  growth  of,  36,  47; 
where  increasing,  64. 

Sites,  school,  229-233. 

Sociology,  91. 

Special  rooms,  253. 

Speech  defects,  289. 

Spelling,  good  features  of,  89;  tests 
in,  and  results,  132-141;  time  given 
to,  88;  work  in,  87. 

State  control  of  schools,  21. 

State  educational  purpose,  the,  22. 

Subnormal  children,  210. 

Superintendent  of  buildings,  338. 

Superintendent  of  health  work,  339. 

Superintendent  of  schools,  the,  and 
the  public,  32;  good  supervisory 
work  by,  44;  real  head  of  the  school 
system,  32-34;  suggested  fixed  pow- 
ers of,  337 ;  to  choose  his  supervisors, 
43- 


346 


Index 


Supervision,  character  of,  44;  need  for 
more,  103;  of  work  in  common 
branches,  113;  premium  on  initia- 
tive, 45;  quality  of  grade,  118; 
special,  40;  worth  of,  42. 

Supervisors,  special,  38,  40. 

Supervisory  needs,  further,  41 . 

Supervisory  staff,  38. 

Tax,  school,  annual,  339;  need  for  a 
larger,  327;  remedy  for,  a  legislative 
one,  330. 

Teachers,  good  tone  of,  112;  more 
needed,  58;  number  employed,  by 
years,  47;  number  of  pupils  per,  48, 
50;  position  of  city  as  to,  49;  sal- 
aries paid,  51,  53;  tenure  of,  54; 
training  of,  52. 

Teacher  situation,  bad  features  of,  50. 

Teeth  of  children,  286-288. 

Temperature  of  schoolrooms,  244-247. 

Tenure  of  teachers,  54. 

Tests  of  the  instruction  made,  130  ff.; 
extent  of  the  testing  conducted,  130; 
how  conducted,  132;  in  composi- 
tion, 141-150;  in  arithmetic,  173- 
190;  in  reading,  159-173;  in  spell- 
ing, 132-141;  in  writing,  150-159; 
general  conclusions  as  to  results,  191; 
general  recommendations  as  a  result 


of  the  tests  given,  192;  nature  of  the 
tests  given,  131;  use  of  standard 
tests,  193;  what  tests  should  reveal, 

«3«- 

Throat  and  nose  troubles,  285. 

Time  allotments  for  elementary-school 

subjects,  76-78,  90. 
Toilets,  school,  257-258. 
Towels,  roller,  261. 

Ungraded  classes,  128. 

Ungraded  rooms,  the  so-called,  219; 

in  different  schools,  222. 
Ungraded  school,  the,  217;    mistaken 

aim  of,  218. 

Vacation   playgrounds,    activities    of, 

306. 
Ventilation,  factors  in,  247;  of  school 

buildings,  246-249;  poor,  248. 
Vocational  education  needed,  126. 
Vocational  training,  122. 
Vocations  in  the  city,  123-126. 

Ward  system,  undesirable,  34. 
Wealth  and  tax-rates  compared,  325- 

3.27- 

Writing,  91,  150;   median  samples  of, 
158;  tests  of,  150-159. 


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MAR  20  '79  -8 


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MAR  2  6  1976 

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